Rediscovering Lost Emotion
by Angelic Traveller
Summary: The Scouts discover the dark side of Charon's past when her ex fiance appears on Earth... The third story in the Sailor Moon P series.
1. Prologue: Falling

Rediscovering Lost Emotion

Rediscovering Lost Emotion.

Prologue - Falling. 

Alexia sighed wearily as she stepped out of the dance school she attended. Three months had passed since she and her parents had moved to Tokyo and she'd discovered her true identity as the Sailor Scout of Charon, the moon of Pluto.

"Hey, Alexia, wait up!" a female voice called out. Alexia stopped and turned, quickly turning on a convincing-looking smile. Running towards her was Shishu Kurahashi - a pretty raven-haired girl who had befriended her since her first day at the dance school.

"Shishu, hi." Alexia greeted her friend. The smaller girl caught up and stared at her critically.

"Are you ok? You seemed very distracted in class. I thought Ms. Yakamori was going to have a fit when you tripped over!" Alexia tossed her thick plaited green hair over her shoulder.

"Tell me about it. I don't know what's wrong with me!" she sighed.

"Maybe you've been working too hard; what with the auditions coming up. I _know_ you have your heart set on the lead…" Shishu's eyes had a look of concern.

"You're right. I've been practising at home every night." Alexia confessed. "And then I have lessons every Monday and Thursday. Plus there's all the fight…" she stopped herself before she said 'fighting against the enemy'. Shishu looked at her with confusion. "Fighting with my parents!" Alexia quickly added, and Shishu laughed.

"I have the same problem, they insist that I keep taking ballet classes!"

"You mean you wanna quit?" the smaller girl nodded.

"Yeah, I wanna take up piano lessons. The only problem is that the lessons are on Mondays at the same time as ballet. Anyway, Alexia I have to go and wait for my dad now - bye!"

"Bye, Shishu." Alexia sighed yet again, and continued to walk. She'd felt pretty weary recently, maybe she _was_ overdoing it…she shook her head, dismissing her thoughts. She couldn't help it – her parents had such high expectations of her, they desperately wanted her to take the lead in the school's next recital, and she couldn't let down the other Scouts, could she? All had been quiet for the last month or so but both Estrella and Rei had recently announced they'd been getting some strange feelings, like something was going to disrupt their lives soon. _I have too much on my plate right now without some stupid bad-guy joining the fray_, she thought, suddenly feeling quite irritated. _Sometimes I wish I was still in Kyoto – life seemed so much easier then…_she gasped and put a hand to her mouth. _When did I become so selfish? But then again isn't it just human nature to want a little peace and quiet?_ She sighed once more and chose to ignore the fact that her head was swimming.

x x x x x

Meanwhile the silent depths of space were suddenly disturbed by a loud humming noise. Rushing along past the stars was a huge purple sphere; around the equator of which were windows. Stood at one of these was a golden-haired youth with silvery-grey eyes that burned with a fierce passion. He pushed a hand though his floppy golden tresses then turned to face the double doors that were shut behind him.

"How much longer am I going to have to wait here?" he muttered impatiently. He turned back to look out into the blackness of space as one of the doors opened slightly. An old man stuck his head around.

"Lord Lucilius will see you now." he announced timidly.

"Well it's about time. Thank you, Quintus." the youth muttered rather coldly as he shoved past. He strode confidently down the long throne room towards a young boy, who was sat smiling to himself. Now most people would be surprised to see Caliban, a brawny youth of about seventeen, kneel down in front of this child. However if one knew of who this child was and what he had done in his lifetime, then they would quake in fear. Lucilius had one of the blackest hearts of the universe, and was not to be taken at face value.

"Aaah, Caliban." The curly-haired boy grinned devilishly. Caliban bowed his head, his hair falling in front of his face.

"What is it you wish to see me for?" he asked his master, still annoyed at being kept waiting. The small boy got up from his throne and looked out of a window nearby.

"Do you know where we are headed?" he asked.

"No, my lord."

"We are heading towards the planet Earth." Lucilius turned to look at the youth's reaction.

"The Earth? But I thought you swore never to return to that galaxy…unless it was to destroy it?" Lucilius threw his head back and laughed.

"Your memory serves you well." He remarked. "And that is the reason we are going there. You see, I have a plan."

"A plan, my lord?" Caliban stood up – he was not in the mood for games, and so he silently wished for Lucilius to get on with the explanation.

"Yes. You see in a few days Earth time there will be a solar eclipse, which will leave some of the planet in darkness for a moment. During that short time period you will land on the planet in a city called Tokyo in a country called Japan. I want you to take on a role as an Earthling and observe something…or should I say somepeople."

"Who, exactly?" Caliban looked at the boy rather impatiently.

"As you know I have been very busy as of late," Lucilius began. "Well, that was because I have been in talks with a very interesting person…who brought me some even more interesting news." Lucilius smiled as the youth gave him a questioning look.

"Who is this person? And what's so fascinating about their news?" Caliban couldn't help but wonder what Lucilius was planning now - the rather smug gleam in his dark eyes told the blonde that whatever it was would be spectacular.

"Ah, you shall be introduced in a short while, so do not concern yourself over that." Lucilius waved his hand dismissively. "As for your other question, my visitor has recently been to Earth, and wished to tell me about a group of extraordinary young women." Caliban rolled his eyes as Lucilius paused for effect.

"What is so extraordinary about them?" he inquired, wishing he'd just spit it out rather than waste his time.

"They are warriors from another time, reborn into new lives from a past they never knew." Lucilius flashed his devilish grin again. "They are led by a girl known as Sailor Moon." Caliban's grey eyes narrowed.

"Am I supposed to be impressed by a group of seafaring females?" He muttered, walking over to look out of the window. _I can't believe he's made me wait over an hour just for that! _He thought in annoyance.

"Yes, you are. They are called the Sailor Scouts – defenders of truth and justice." Lucilius continued, saying the last part in a mocking tone. "For a time there were only four Scouts with this Sailor Moon - known as Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter; but while my informant was observing them their number was added to with the appearance of a new Scout," He turned his head to face his finest warrior in order to gauge his reaction. "She called herself Sailor Charon."

"Charon?!" Caliban spluttered as he turned around sharply, his eyes wide with disbelief. It had been so long since he had heard that name. "She is still alive?"

"It certainly seems that way," Lucilius remarked. "She must have nine lives." He walked up to the pensive youth and pulled him down to his height. "It is time for a little…reunion. However, first of all…" he pushed Caliban to the ground as turned his head to call over his shoulder. "Quintus! Show our guest in!"

A beautiful, slender woman sauntered into the room through the same doors Caliban had used a few minutes before; her wavy orange hair covered the left side of her pale blue face.

"My lord." she greeted Lucilius graciously, bowing gracefully. Lucilius smiled with satisfaction.

"Nerissa, I would like you to meet Prince Caliban." Caliban regarded the woman, who was now bowing in his direction, with a smirk on his face.

_So, Lucilius had found himself a chamber maid,_ he thought in amusement. _I bet she thought if she helped him she would get to rule the universe alongside him, foolish female._

"Caliban, this is Nerissa," Lucilius continued the introduction, the smugness never leaving his eyes. "Your new partner."

Caliban couldn't believe what he'd just been told.

"_WHAT_?!" He yelled in disbelief. "Tell me I just misheard!" Nerissa smiled at him sweetly.

"She shall accompany you on your mission, to ensure you don't get…distracted." Caliban's eyes widened at this idea.

"If I get distracted by anyone, which I won't, it will be by her!" he objected loudly, indicating Nerissa. "I do not need some simpering female getting under my feet - I can do this by myself!" Lucilius chuckled and shook his head.

"Now _that_ I cannot believe – the Sailor Scouts have ways of…changing people." the blonde youth sighed and waved his hand in resignation.

"Very well, then." He muttered. Lucilius once again turned to Nerissa.

"As I said, you are to go with him." The woman lowered her head respectfully.

"As you wish, my lord." She smiled wickedly to herself as her face was covered by her hair. _This is perfect, Florizel will be most pleased_, she thought…

x x x x x

"Has anyone noticed how strangely Alexia's been acting recently?" Lita asked. The girls were at the temple waiting for their friend to arrive from her ballet class.

"I have, she almost walked straight past me this morning without saying hello." Mina spoke up.

"I'm really concerned, she's been way out of it in school. Her marks have dropped way below her usual average." Rei sighed. "Our maths teacher is getting really mad at her because she keeps daydreaming."

"Maybe I can help give her some tutoring." Amy suggested. Rei nodded.

"I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

"At first I just thought it was the auditions for the lead role in her dance class's recital distracting her." Estrella said. "But now I'm not so sure." she sighed and put her head down. "I'm starting to wonder if I've been pushing her too hard recently."

"Don't put yourself down Estrella, you're doing a fine job." Luna reassured her.

"I'm just worried, maybe I shouldn't've mentioned those feelings I've been having." The kitten sighed.

"You're not the only one who's been having them though." Rei pointed out. "Don't load all the blame onto yourself."

Meanwhile Alexia was slowly making her way up the steps.

"Hey guys, how's things?" she asked wearily. The girls turned to look at her.

"How was ballet class?" Estrella inquired as she sat down.

"Exhausting." she murmured.

"Hey, Alexia, are you feeling alright? You look awfully pale." Amy asked anxiously.

"Yeah I'm fine, I just need to sit down." she sat in a chair and tried to smile, but failed miserably.

"Look, perhaps you should go home. Come on, I'll come with you." Mina took hold of her friend's arm and helped her to her feet. As she got up again Alexia suddenly realised how heavy her head felt, and suddenly it was getting hard to breathe. Still, she didn't want her friends to worry about her.

"Really, you don't need to fuss over meeee…" She held onto Mina's arm tightly, as she could no longer hold herself up and everything began to blur and go dark.

"Alexia!" everyone exclaimed, their voices seemed to echo as if she were underwater.

"I don't…feel so good…" she murmured quietly before loosing her grip on her friend's arm and sinking to the ground.

Alexia found herself surrounded by darkness. She tried to look around but it was as if she had her eyes closed.

_Not again_, she thought, _I thought these dreams had stopped!_

"Hello?" she called out nervously into the black. Her voice echoed eerily in the deathly silence.

"Charon…" the voice which had haunted her dreams since becoming a Scout suddenly called back, however its next words were different: "Come to me."

"Where are you?" she asked anxiously. "How can I come to you if I don't even know who you are?!"

"I'm coming, coming to find you." the voice replied. "It has been too long now!"

"Who, or what, are you?" she shouted. Nothing. "Hello?" suddenly she screamed as the floor shook.

"Alexia, Alexia wake up!" another voice called out in the darkness.

"Mina?" she called back. "Where are you?"

"Alexia! Is she alright?"

"Rei?"

"Oh please Alexia, please wake up!"

"Estrella?"

"Alexia!"

"Amy? Lita? Luna? Artemis? Serena? Rei? Everyone? Anyone? WHERE ARE YOU!" she screamed as the floor continued to tremble beneath her.

…"Is she ok?"…

…"Alexia?"…

…"She's coming round"…

…"What happened?"…

…"I think everything finally got to her."…

Alexia's eyes fluttered open to find everyone stood over her.

"Stand back, give her some breathing space!" Amy ordered. "How do you feel, Alexia?"

"Like I've just been hit by a bus." she moaned. Rei crouched down next to her and handed her a glass of water.

"Here, drink this, it'll make you feel better." Alexia took a sip of the cool liquid.

"Thank you, Rei."

"I think someone should phone her parents, she's in no fit state to go home by bus." Amy said.

"I'll go." Lita went inside to use the phone.

"I'll go with Alexia, just to make sure everything's ok." Mina spoke up.

"Good idea, Mina." Amy smiled.

"Are you ok, Alexia? We're really worried about you." Serena said gently. "Tell me – is it the dreams again?" Serena was the only one who really knew about how terrible her old nightmare was, since she had witnessed the end of it when she'd been transported into Alexia's mind during their fight with Neromostro, the DreamDweller. Alexia nodded, but then burst into tears.

"It was different this time, the voice said he's coming to get me." she wept. "I want to go home, I want my mom and dad!" Serena threw her arms around her.

"It's ok, Alexia, it's ok."

About ten minutes later, Miaka had arrived to pick her up.

"Oh, my baby. Thank you so much for phoning, I would've gone crazy if she'd tried to walk home. You know how determined she can get." she sighed, looking at her daughter sat in the back of the car with Mina, Artemis and Estrella.

"It's ok." Rei smiled.

"Tell her to get better soon, and not to worry about anything." Lita told her. Miaka nodded.

"Thanks again girls, now I'd better get her home and phone the doctor, goodbye." she walked to the car and got in. "Are you feeling any better, honey?" she asked her daughter gently.

"I feel rather hot, could you open a window please?" she murmured, her eyes only half open. Mina smiled sympathetically and rolled down the window near to her slightly.

"Any better?" she asked.

"Yes, thank you." Alexia smiled faintly, before closing her eyes and drifting off into a light sleep.


	2. The Star that Fell to Earth

1 - The Star that Fell to Earth.

"Well?" Miaka asked expectantly. The doctor had been very good and had arrived about five minutes after she had phoned the surgery.

"Alexia has worn herself out, she just needs a week or so of rest and she should be alright." the doctor smiled confidently.

"But…the auditions! They're in four days time!" Alexia protested from her bed.

"I'm sorry Alexia, no auditions for you." her mother told her sadly. Alexia tried to get out of bed, unable to accept her situation. However as soon as she stood the dizziness returned and she had to sit down. A lump rose in her throat.

"It's not fair! I've been practising non-stop and now I won't even get a chance!" she broke down into tears again.

"She's exhausted. Let's leave her to get some sleep." the doctor ordered.

"Sweet dreams honey." her mother whispered as she left.

"It's…not…fair!" the girl wept. Estrella leapt up onto her lap.

"There'll be other auditions for other recitals Alexia, it's not the end of the world."

"Oh leave me alone!" Alexia pushed the cat away and threw her head down into her pillow. Estrella quietly slipped away through the window, tears in her eyes. She walked straight into Artemis, who was sat out on the ledge.

"I heard what she said, don't take it to heart; she only said it because she's upset." he said comfortingly.

"I know, but why do I still feel so terrible?" Estrella said bitterly. "She was so trouble free before I came along…" Artemis sighed.

"We've been through this before, she told you before that she's ok with the fact that she's a Scout."

"But what if she was only saying that to prevent me from feeling bad?"

"Luna and I are going to have a meeting about what we're going to do with Alexia out of action. Come along with me." the white cat got up.

"Very well." Estrella said reluctantly and followed him away.

x x x x x

That night, for the first time in what seemed like forever, Serena discovered she couldn't sleep. She lay in her bed staring at the wall with a worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong with me?" she murmured. "I felt so tired a few minutes ago, but now I'm wide awake…" she sat up and rubbed her eyes. "My mind feels like it's working overtime – weird." She clambered out of bed, thankful that Luna was out on patrol. She walked over to the window and realised that it was starting to rain. She watched the raindrops splash against the windowpane and shuddered as she heard the first crash of thunder. Quickly she jumped into her bed again and pulled her sheets right over her head – she detested storms. She wondered how Alexia was, and remembered the last time she'd been ill. That was the time that Neromostro the DreamDweller had infected her mind and trapped her in her darkest nightmare; and Serena had fortunately been there to help fight the demon. She shuddered again as a louder roll of thunder sounded and she thought about how frightened she'd been when she'd seen Alexia's lifeless body, covered with blood. No one could explain what her nightmare had been about, even the cats hadn't a clue; although they always seemed quite reluctant to talk about it… "Maybe it's just my imagination, but I think they know more than they're letting on…" the blonde remarked to herself, closing her eyes as the wind howled outside, causing her window to rattle slightly. The storm was getting worse, and she hoped that Luna had found somewhere safe and dry to shelter. "I wish you were here Luna…I don't like the thought of you out there in this weather." She murmured. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest as an ear-splitting crash of thunder made her jump. "Why do I feel so worried all of a sudden?" she asked herself. "Like something really bad's going to happen…" her eyelids suddenly felt heavy as she yawned. "Oh well, guess I ought to sleep on it." She mumbled, and finally fell into a deep slumber.

x x x x x

The following afternoon Mina, along with Artemis and Lita decided to pay their sick friend a small visit.

"She's awake, but please don't get her over excited." Alfredo, Alexia's father, told them. Mina smiled and nodded.

"Sure thing! I'll make sure she's nice and comfortable." Lita sweatdropped.

"Poor Alexia, I'll never forget the time Mina insisted on looking after us when we had the 'flu." she whispered to Artemis.

"Tell me about it, I thought no one was clumsier than Serena, but that week proved me wrong!" he groaned. "Then again, when Serena insisted on looking after us…" he sighed. "It was hell, sheer hell." Lita laughed lightly.

"Good afternoon Alexia!" Mina beamed as she stepped into the girl's room.

"Oh, hi guys." she replied wearily.

"How are you feeling? You still look awfully pale." Lita said sympathetically.

"I still feel really tired." she sighed.

"Well, these'll make you feel better!" Lita handed her a box. "I baked them last night."

"They're really yummy." Mina told her. Alexia opened it - it was full of cookies.

"Great, thanks a lot Leet." she said gratefully. "I could do with a sugar fix." she took one out, then offered the box around. She nibbled on it carefully. "Delicious!"

"Thanks Alexia." Lita grinned.

"So what's going on?" Estrella asked.

"Nothing much, hey there's going to be a solar eclipse on Sunday! We're all going to watch it at the temple. It's a shame you won't be able to come." Mina said sympathetically. Suddenly the sound of the phone ringing floated up the stairs.

"I wonder who that could be?" Alexia wondered out loud as the ringing stopped.

"It might be one of the others phoning, Amy said she was going to call to check on you." Lita told her.

"Oh that's nice of her!" Alexia smiled. The door opened, and Miaka appeared, a small smile on her lips.

"I have some news for you. That was Ms. Yakamori, the pianist had to be rushed to hospital with appendicitis, and as there's no other pianist available the auditions have been cancelled indefinitely." she announced. Alexia's eyes widened.

"Oh no, poor thing, I hope she gets better…but I still have a chance! Oh, this is so terrible because of Miss Hanada being sick, but at the same time…this is _fantastic_ news!!" she squealed with excitement. Lita and Mina grinned at their friend's good fortune.

"That's great Alexia!" Mina agreed.

"Calm down honey, you'll tire yourself out again!" her mother warned. Alexia couldn't stop smiling, her heart was racing and she felt like she was on top of the world.

"Hey mom, would it be alright for me to go to the temple on Sunday to watch the eclipse?" she asked hopefully. Her mother looked at her critically.

"We'll see, it depends on how well you are then. If you're a lot better, then fine."

"Great!" Mina smiled. "Now you _have_ to get better soon!!"

x x x x x

On Saturday Alexia received many visits from the Scouts, Shishu and other various friends from dance class and school. All of these visits plus the news about auditions being cancelled had put Alexia in a very good mood and by Sunday she was feeling a lot better.

"Well, we guess you can go to the temple Alexia as long as you take it easy!" her parents decided.

"YES!" she exclaimed joyfully, and after kissing her parents went to the phone to call Rei.

"Great!" Rei said enthusiastically. "The others are staying over, so if you want you can too!"

Later at the temple. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the sun, which was now blocked out by the moon's shadow. The sky was as dark as night.

"Wow, that is amazing!" Lita gasped.

"It's beautiful." Amy sighed.

"It's really romantic!" Serena said, pulling Darien closer. Behind the group Rei suddenly took a sharp intake of breath and turned away.

"What was that?" Estrella murmured, also looking around her.

"You felt it too?" Rei asked quietly, and the kitten nodded.

"Yes…and I wish I hadn't…" she looked back towards Alexia sadly.

No one noticed as what looked like a star fell towards the Earth…

Meanwhile, several thousand miles away in London, a certain purple-haired girl felt too distracted to watch the spectacle. She broke away from the small group of people, who had woken up so early in the morning to watch the eclipse, and placed a hand to her forehead.

_I never thought I'd see the day…_she thought to herself as she felt the tension in the atmosphere. _Good luck Scouts, you're gonna need it_.

_So, this is Earth_. Caliban thought to himself. _Sailor Scouts, I am coming to find you, and you won't escape me_. He smiled to himself, the glint in his eyes brighter than ever. Nerissa observed him carefully.

"He is strong, I must be wary that I do not let him know my true intentions." she murmured to herself. "Florizel would be angry if I ruined such an opportunity." she walked up to the youth in her normal casual manner. "So, Caliban, what do you think?"

"I think it's too dark to see anything," he muttered. "I still don't know why Lucilius thought I needed watching, I'm sure I could do this mission without your interference!" Nerissa laughed scornfully.

"Whatever, Caliban." she said sarcastically. "You know you need me here, I have knowledge of this planet and its inhabitants; plus someone needs to make sure you don't try…reliving the past." she leant on his shoulder, but he pushed her off.

"What past is that?" he growled, narrowing his eyes before storming off to his quarters. She smiled to herself again.

"You know exactly what I mean."


	3. The Boy with the Silver Eyes

2 - The Boy with the Silver Eyes. 

"Hello, Risolto residence?" Alexia announced down the phone. It was two days after the eclipse and Alexia was almost back to her old self.

"Hey Alexia, it's Shishu." the voice on the other end exclaimed. "How are you feeling?"

"Hi, I'm feeling a lot better, thank you!" she smiled.

"Wow great! So you'll be back in class as soon as they're back up?"

"Yup, sure will! Fingers crossed Miss Hanada gets better soon!" There was a long pause.

"Errrm, you haven't been told?"

"What?" Alexia looked confused. Mina, who was sat on the stairs with Estrella and Artemis, tilted her head.

"She died two days ago."

"WHAT?!" Alexia exploded; Artemis fell off Mina's lap. Alexia almost laughed, but managed to stop herself before she did.

"She died," Shishu repeated. "Apparently they thought the operation had been a success, but then she got an infection or something and she just…"

"Yeah, I understand." Alexia sighed. "I just can't believe it. Anyway I'll see you soon, ok?"

"Sure," Shishu replied. "Bye!"

"Bye." Alexia put the phone down, sighed, then went to sit next to Mina.

"What's wrong?" the blonde asked gently.

"Miss Hanada, the pianist, died." she murmured.

"That's terrible!" Mina exclaimed. "So what's gonna happen?"

"Don't know, I guess we'll just have to wait 'til they find a new one." Alexia buried her face in her hands. "I just can't believe it, she was such a nice person!" Mina put a hand on her friend's back.

"Hey, it's ok. At least you'll be able to audition." she said soothingly.

"Yeah, but when will the auditions be?!" Alexia moaned.

x x x x x

Nerissa sighed with frustration and pushed a strand of her long orange hair out of her eyes. She sat back in the chair she was sat in and picked up a newspaper that was on the table next to her. She was just about to start reading when she noticed Caliban walk out of his room. She burst out laughing.

"What do you look like?!" she exclaimed, tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks. He scowled at her.

"It's not my fault I can't get used to these stupid clothes!" he grumbled. She uncrossed her long legs and placed the open paper on her lap.

"Your shirt is on backwards." she remarked.

"Why have I got to wear these strange things anyway? What's wrong with my usual clothes?" he asked.

"We want to remain inconspicuous, don't we?" she explained. "So we have to dress like humans and have human names!"

"So what's _my_ name again?" he retorted.

"Matthias, and I'm Crystal." she sighed; it was the fifth time she'd told him that day. She went back to the newspaper, and as she flicked through her eyes widened. "Hey this is perfect!"

"What?" Caliban muttered as he sorted his shirt out.

"There's a story here about a ballet school whose pianist's just died…they're looking for a new one!" she leapt up and suddenly transformed into her human form. Caliban looked at her in amazement.

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.

"To get a job! I trust you can still dance?" Nerissa grinned.

"This is _my_ mission! I'll tell you when to go and what to do!" the youth snapped. Nerissa rolled her eyes.

"We're _partners_, remember?" she reminded him. "Anyhow, it's _perfect_! Think about it, what was one of the things that Charon was really good at?"

"Ballet." he remarked.

"Exactly. So if I'm right Sailor Charon will be just as graceful!" Nerissa exclaimed. Caliban closed his eyes.

"Since when have you been able to play the piano anyway?" he asked. Nerissa grinned.

"One of my little secrets." she winked.

"Fine, go." he muttered, turning his back on her.

"Ha!" Nerissa said triumphantly. "See ya later!" she disappeared. Caliban sat down and crossed his arms.

"I still don't understand why I have to put up with her," he muttered. "Then again I don't understand what Lucilius is planning, either…"

x x x x x

Alexia and the other Scouts were sat around at the temple.

"I'm sooo bored! Why can't we have some action?" Lita suddenly exclaimed, slamming her hand against the wall.

"Tell me about it." Rei sighed. "Have you heard anything Luna?"

"No nothing at all." the black cat told her.

"I think it's nice that we're having a break!" Serena beamed.

"You would, gives you more time to slack off." Rei muttered. Serena opened her mouth, then shut it again.

"What can we do?" Mina asked.

"We could study, I have lots of exams coming up." Amy suggested. The other Scouts groaned. Suddenly a car horn sounded.

"That's my mom, I gotta go for my audition now!" Alexia announced, grabbed her bag containing her dance clothes and ran down the steps.

"Good luck Alexia!" Mina called after her.

"You'll be great!" Serena added.

"Bye guys!" Alexia waved to the other Scouts before jumping into the car.

"You nervous?" Miaka smiled as her daughter sat down.

"A little, I'm more excited!" Alexia grinned. Earlier that day she had received a phone call from the dance school telling her that they had found a pianist at last. She had butterflies in her stomach as they reached their destination and she almost fell out of the car as she opened the door in her excitement to get in there and do the best audition she'd even done.

"Have fun sweetheart, and good luck." her mother called as she drove off.

"Alexia!" Shishu exclaimed happily as Alexia approached the school.

"Shishu, you've still not managed to persuade your parents to let you stop taking lessons?" she asked. The raven-haired girl shrugged.

"I've decided not to." Alexia rolled her eyes. Shishu was known for her fickleness.

"Come on, let's go." she pushed open the doors and skipped in.

x x x x x

"Wow, what a babe!"

"Who is he?"

"I don't know, but I hope he's single!" three girls were stood giggling in the corner of the changing room whilst Alexia was getting ready.

"Hey Saya, who are you talking about?" she asked them. Saya, a pretty girl with wavy red hair and brown eyes, turned to face her.

"There's a new guy in the class." she replied.

"Ms. Yakamori's given him the lead male part!" another exclaimed.

"Plus, he's drop dead gorgeous!!" the other girl swooned. "Whoever gets the female lead today will be one lucky girl!" Alexia grinned.

"Let's go and see then!" she walked out into the classroom and smiled contentedly to herself. "It's good to be back." she murmured, stretching her arms out above her head.

Caliban sighed in annoyance at all of the girls. He folded his arms and tossed his head back as yet another pair walked past giggling. Nerissa smiled from her position at the piano. She stood up and walked over to him.

"Cheer up…Matthias." she said. He scowled at her.

"Why did I listen to you?" he muttered.

"Because I'm clever? Come on this plan is perfect! You got the lead easily!"

"Only because I brainwashed the teacher!" Nerissa shook her head.

"Just calm down, ok? I'm _sure_ this is where we'll find Charon!" she walked away again. Caliban pushed a hand through his hair and allowed his eyes to drift around the room; somehow still managing to avoid the gazes of the admiring girls.

"Go and talk to him!" he overheard one of his newly-formed fan club whispering nearby.

"No…_you_ go and talk to him!" her friend exclaimed and then they both giggled. The prince was about to storm over to Nerissa and tell her he'd already had enough of this place and that he was leaving when his attention was caught by the sight of a new girl, who strolled past him whilst stretching her arms above her head.

His jaw dropped.

Unlike the other female dancers in the room she hadn't even tried to look at him; in fact it seemed to him that she only had eyes for the barre, which she had now stepped up to. Her pale blue eyes had a look of contentment in them as she began to stretch her long legs. As he continued to observe her with widened eyes his stomach seemed to turn over inside him. Something about the feeling was familiar…although so was something about that girl…

Alexia was completely oblivious to the attention she was receiving right at that moment. She was silently giving herself a pep-talk as she warmed up, focusing her mind on the task at hand - getting the lead. She looked deeply into her own eyes, which were reflected in the mirrored wall beside her.

"You can do this, Alexia." she told herself with determination, before she sensed she was being watched.

And that was when she finally noticed Caliban.

Blue eyes locked with grey in an instant and for the smallest moment it felt like time had stopped. Embarrassed that he had been caught staring, the youth turned away sharply and Alexia suddenly felt dizzy. A succession of emotions had flowed through her so quickly that she'd barely had the time to recognise them. Gripping the barre so tightly that her knuckles were white she took some deep breaths whilst she tried to comprehend what had just happened to her. At first she had felt surprised, which had turned to sheer joy as she'd gazed at the youth; swiftly it changed into wariness, then confusion, panic and finally a stomach-churning fear, which she was still feeling now. Her heart was pounding and she suddenly felt very hot and like the room was spinning around her.

_Please, go away…leave me alone!_ She found herself thinking desperately, although she had no idea why. She placed a shaky hand to her mouth as it filled with an unpleasant taste and she was convinced she was going to be sick, there and then, if she didn't get away from him.

Pushing herself away from the barre she sped to the dressing room, shoving through the crowd of girls who were still discussing the newcomer.

"Alexia? Hey, Alexia!" Shishu exclaimed, chasing after her friend. Alexia grabbed hold of the side of the basin she had run to and almost choked as she wretched loudly. "Oh my…you're not gonna throw up, are you?" The girl inquired anxiously. "I hate seeing people being sick…" The Charonian simply shook her head and wiped her streaming eyes with the back of her hand. Shishu took her by the shoulders and took her to sit on one of the benches in the room. Alexia rested her arms on her thighs and kept her head low. "Here, drink some of this, it'll make you feel better." her raven-haired companion instructed gently and Alexia felt something cold against her hands. Taking hold of the bottle of water she raised her head and slowly sipped its contents. The cool liquid slipped down her throat easily and she quickly felt much better.

"Thanks, I needed that." she managed to say. "I felt so ill all of a sudden."

"You looked so green!" Shishu remarked quietly. "Are you sure you should be back here? Maybe you should rest some more…"

"I'm fine, Shishu. Seriously." she added as her companion gave her a disbelieving glance. "The doctor gave me the all clear. It was just that new guy…"

"What about him?" Shishu inquired curiously.

"I caught him looking at me and it was so strange. Our eyes met for a moment then he turned away and I…" she decided to give Shishu the edited version as she'd never be able to explain exactly how he'd made her feel. "I just suddenly felt really sick!"

"Woah!" Shishu exclaimed, her eyes wide. Her voice lowered to a whisper. "You don't think he's _that_ ugly, do you?!" Alexia couldn't help but laugh. "Anyway, I guess we better get out there - you have a lead part to get!" Alexia looked at Shishu with surprise. "Oh come _on_, Alexia! I know I haven't a chance in hell! You're a great dancer, if you don't get it, I'll yell at Ms. Yakamori!"

"I'll hold you to that." the green-haired girl grinned.

"Class! Can I have some order please!" Ms. Yakamori was barking as the two girls entered the dance studio. Alexia kept her head down, making sure she avoided the gaze of Caliban, and went to sit with the rest of the class. "Now, I'd like to introduce you to our new pianist, Miss Reimo." Caliban gave Nerissa a strange look as she stood up and smiled.

"Please, call me Crystal." she told them. Alexia raised her eyes for a moment to look at the blonde woman sat at the piano, before looking away again as Ms. Yakamori turned to Caliban.

"And this is our newest class member, Matthias." she continued.

"Matthias…" Alexia couldn't help but murmur as she fought the urge to look at him again.

"Now," Ms. Yakamori went on. "Let's continue with the auditions. Most of you auditioned yesterday, but there's still a few of you left. Let's start with you…" Alexia's mind drifted off again as she stood up and walked away from the group. Caliban's eyes followed her every movement carefully, although he didn't really understand why he was watching her so closely. _I can't allow myself to be distracted from my mission, especially not by some Earth girl, _he told himself firmly; but still…the urge to talk to her was too great. _I suppose I should try and blend in, it might make the time go faster._ After quickly checking his appearance in the mirrored wall he stepped over to where the object of his curiosity was stood looking out of a window. 

"Excuse me?"

A chill shot up Alexia's spine as soon as she heard the confident male voice directly behind her. Part of her wanted nothing more than to grab the handle on the window, pull it open and leap out; however the other part of her wanted to turn around and get to know this strange newcomer. Finally, after swallowing hard, she allowed the latter part to win. Forcing a slight smile onto her face she turned to face him.

"Yes?" she managed to say, clenching her hands together tightly behind her back. She backed away slightly, so her back was touching the window sill, and looked around to check who was nearby so she could call to them if she needed to get away quickly.

"Hi…I'm Matthias." Caliban simply said, his eyes firmly fixed on her. Alexia felt like she would suffocate, he felt so close to her…

_Why am I so scared of him_?! She wondered, her heart pounding against her ribs.

"I'm Alexia, Alexia Risolto." she managed to murmur, and much to her surprise felt her cheeks start to heat up. _I can see what the other girls see in him, he's very good-looking…_ she decided,_ but still, there's something about him that's familiar, and it frightens me…_

"Hey, here you are Alexia!" Saya exclaimed, shoving past Caliban and grabbing the green-haired girl's arm. "Shishu's auditioning right now! She said you wasn't feeling very well, I think you should sit down right now." She looked at Caliban. "Hi, by the way. My name's Saya Ikari, welcome to the class."

"Thank you, Saya. I hope you feel better, Alexia." The youth remarked and Saya dragged Alexia into a corner away from him.

"What was happening over there? The other girls were getting really jealous that he'd spoken to you first and then I noticed that you looked terrified of him!" the red-haired dancer exclaimed, blinking her dark eyes.

"He was just introducing himself. I guess I must've looked a bit nervous because he startled me, that's all." Alexia lied quickly. "Hey, did you say Shishu was dancing? Let's go and watch!" she swiftly changed the subject and started to walk towards the other end of the room, where the auditions were taking place. _You'll never know just how right you were, Saya._ She said mentally.

Alexia spent the rest of the time before her audition practising and successfully avoiding Caliban's gaze.

"Miss Risolto?" Ms. Yakamori finally called to her just as she was about to sit down. Alexia smiled and nodded as she walked to stand in front of the teacher. Whilst she waited for Ms. Yakamori's cue to begin she turned her head slightly to take a proper look at the new pianist. She was quite young looking, with skin so pale it was almost as white as snow and thick sand-coloured hair which fell to about halfway down her back. Her green eyes observed Alexia just as curiously, but then crinkled at the corners as she smiled cheerfully.

_Could she be Charon?_ The pianist asked herself as she gazed thoughtfully at the dancer, before her attention was caught by Caliban, who had walked over to Ms. Yakamori and was now talking to her earnestly. Alexia was also regarding the scene with knots in stomach.

_What does he want? Why does he have to talk to her now?_ She pondered anxiously. Ms. Yakamori walked over to her, a serious look on her face.

"Alexia," she whispered in a tone as grave as her face, to the girl, who was becoming tense from a the mixture of nerves and excitement. "Matthias has asked me if he could dance with you. It _is_ rather unorthodox as the others girls haven't been offered the chance, but…" she leant a little closer, her sky blue eyes meeting Alexia's ice blue ones. "I seriously believe you have what it takes to get the lead - you know very well that I think you should be in a more advanced class. However, I am leaving the decision entirely in your hands."

Alexia wasn't sure how to react. She felt rather uncomfortable with the fact that Ms. Yakamori had more or less just guaranteed her the lead without auditioning, yet she knew the teacher would never do anything so rash without she really believed it be right. However, it was the thought of having to dance with Matthias that made her feel worse. Her stomach was churning so much that she felt like she was in a boat on stormy waters and she wasn't entirely sure if her legs would hold her weight for much longer…

"Alexia," the soft male voice of Matthias was like silk to her ears, almost seductive in its tone. Her shoulders tensed as she felt his hand come to rest on one of them. "I've been watching you practise; you're the best dancer I've seen in a long time. Please allow me the pleasure of dancing with you." As he had spoken she'd fought the urge to pull herself away from his grasp and scream. Now she was resisting the urge to turn and look at him, which reminded Alexia of watching a horror movie through her fingers - not wanting to see what was happening yet at the same time wanting to in order to soothe her curiosity.

She couldn't - she simply could not dance with him.

Nonetheless, if she wanted the lead, which she most definitely did, then she would have no choice in the matter - she would _have_ to dance with him sooner or later. Then there was that tiny part of her that _wanted_ to…

"Okay." She finally said firmly, nodding her head.

"Fantastic." Ms. Yakamori looked pleased with her decision and walked back to where she had been stood before. As Matthias removed his hand from Alexia's shoulder and moved away she felt as if a huge weight had been lifted. "Crystal, you can begin." Alexia could hear her heart pounding as the piano music began and she spun to where Matthias was waiting for her. As he took hold of her waist and lifted her the Charonian felt her head go strangely light for a moment and as he placed her down again their eyes met. A rather pleasant shiver went down Alexia's back and she couldn't help but smile at her dance partner for the first time since she had first lain eyes on him. Caliban was entranced, but managed to keep his concentration. Every move they made seem to come naturally, almost as if they had danced together every day of their lives, and the smile would not leave Alexia's face. She was no longer herself, she was the character in the story they were telling through their every movement, dancing with the love of her life. It was this escapism, this ability to imagine she was someone else, that made Alexia love ballet so much. They were both so wrapped up in dancing with each other that they didn't notice the crowd of girls that had formed around Ms. Yakamori, each one of them staring in awe.

Finally the music ended and Alexia was brought back to Earth by the sounds of applause and cheering.

"Well, I think we've found our prima ballerina." Ms. Yakamori announced above the noise, an approving smile on her face. As she stood gaping at the crowd Alexia was speechless. She would have never believed, had it not just happened, that dancing with someone who was a complete stranger with no prior practice could ever feel so…right. She looked at Matthias again and felt even more confused. Where had the fear she had felt earlier gone? No longer did panicked thoughts of how to escape from him cross her mind - in fact the only thing she could think of was how much she was looking forward to getting to know him better, and how attractive he was! It was like a door had been opened in her heart, letting out all of the fear and thus allowing these other feelings to grow stronger. As they looked at each other, smiling, she found herself sinking deeper into his magnificent eyes, which sparkled so much in the spotlights overhead that they looked silver.

"Congratulations, Alexia." he grinned, giving her shoulder a squeeze.

"Uhhh…thanks." she managed to reply quietly, her cheeks turning red instantly.

"I told you that you could do it!" Shishu exclaimed happily as she ran over and hugged her friend tightly. "I'm so happy for you!" her eyes shone mischievously. "So are the others, although they might not seem it!" Alexia looked over Shishu's shoulder at the disappointed faces of the other girls, and couldn't help but wonder if they were upset because they didn't get the lead or because they wouldn't get the opportunity to dance with Matthias.


	4. First Strike

3 - First Strike.

Lucilius was sat in his private chamber; his childish face contorted into a thoughtful expression. He rapped his fingers against the surface of the table he was sat at, impatient for news.

As it happened Quintus was shuffling down the corridor to his room right at that moment. The old man knocked on the door in his normal, careful manner and waited.

"Enter!" Lucilius barked, and Quintus entered silently and almost immediately fell to one knee, respectfully, in front of his master.

"Nerissa is here, seeking an audience with your lordship." he declared in his meek, trembling voice. Lucilius's eyes brightened immediately as he smiled.

"Then what are you kneeling there for? Send her in immediately!" he exclaimed harshly, waving his hand towards the door.

"As you wish, my lord." He stood up and rushed out, not wanting to annoy his master.

A few moments later Nerissa sauntered in, her green dress fluttering around her legs.

"Greetings, my lord; I thought I ought to pay you a visit." she smiled charmingly.

"How considerate of you." Lucilius responded, indicating the seat opposite to him. "So, how are things on Earth? I trust Caliban is well and not causing you too much trouble." He picked up a decanter of wine, which stood on the table, and filled two glasses.

"Things on Earth are fine, thank you." Nerissa responded as she graciously took the glass he offered her. "We had no problem hiding the ship and the blending-in phase is going along well. As for Caliban, no problems I haven't been able to handle."

"Good, good," Lucilius took a sip of his drink. "So, have you located the Sailor Scouts yet?"

"Not yet, but we are close, I am sure. With your permission I would like to make our first attack tonight, so Caliban can see what we are up against." Lucilius placed his glass down on the table, an pleased look on his face.

"Permission granted," his voice level and strangely soft as he gazed the stunning woman. "I do believe you and I are going to get along very well, Nerissa. Caliban would never have come to ask my permission for anything. I am glad to finally have someone on my side who is so…thoughtful of my feelings." He licked his lips and then smiled devilishly. Nerissa shuffled slightly in her seat, feeling uncomfortable at the fact that she was being eyed up by someone who looked no more than eight years old. She drained her glass quickly and stood up.

"I should go and prepare for the attack," she announced, bowing. "Farewell for now, my lord."

"Very well, I shall be looking forward to our next meeting."

At this Nerissa turned and left, a relieved expression crossing her face as she exited the room.

x x x x x

"Alexia! Stop leaving us in the dark!" Mina exclaimed. "You've hardly told us anything!"

"What more can I tell you?" Alexia asked, resting her chin in her hands. She had been telling them about how her audition, which of course meant talking about Matthias. She was still very confused about the rather enigmatic youth, who had seemed to have just appeared from nowhere. She had spent the evening before trying to get him out of her mind, to no avail. All she could think of was how scared she had been of him at first (something which she had chosen not to tell her fellow Scouts about) and how now, all of a sudden, she couldn't wait to see him again and look into those beautiful grey eyes…

"Weeell…" Serena disrupted her thoughts. "Is he a good kisser?"

"Serena!" Alexia pushed the girl over as she blushed, "How should I know, I only met him yesterday!"

"That hurt!" Serena wailed. Rei laughed.

"That serves you right!"

"Well from what I've heard so far he sounds like my ex-boyfriend, Akito" Lita sighed. "I wonder why I ever split up with him…?"

"Does every boy we talk about remind you of one of your ex-boyfriends, Lita?" Amy asked, however Lita was daydreaming so she didn't reply.

"Hey guys," Darien greeted them as he walked up. "Alexia, there's a guy outside who's looking for you." all the girls jumped up and ran to the window.

"It's him! It's Matthias!" Alexia exclaimed joyfully, again wondering how she could have been frightened of him.

"Wow, he _is_ cute." Mina remarked.

"Well what are you waiting for? Get out there!" Lita shoved Alexia through the door. Matthias looked at her with interest as she fell to the floor at his feet.

"I must look like such a klutz!" she laughed nervously as she dusted herself off. She turned to look at the window, where the other Scouts were giving her the thumbs up.

"Not at all." he replied.

"How did you know I'd be here?" she inquired.

"I got your address from the ballet school, and your mother told me that you were here." he explained, looking at the group crowded at the window. "Um, are your friends going to come out here to be introduced or do they prefer gawping through the window?" Alexia laughed again, feeling rather embarrassed, and signalled for the others to join them.

"Matthias, I'd like you to meet Serena, her boyfriend Darien, Amy, Lita, Mina and Rei. Everyone, this is Matthias."

"Hi!" the group said simultaneously. Matthias smiled and looked urgently at Alexia.

"Alexia…I'd like to talk with you…alone." he looked at the others. Lita nudged Mina and winked and they along with Serena started to giggle uncontrollably. Amy, Rei and Darien looked away, wishing they could be somewhere else right at that moment.

"Oh, of course, sure, whatever!" Alexia said, feeling flustered. "Come on, we'll go for a walk - see you all later."

"Bye, Alexia!" Serena called. "Have fun!"

"We'll be waiting!" Mina added pointedly. Alexia felt her cheeks burn violently.

"Your friends seem nice," Matthias told her. "If not a little bit embarrassing." Alexia couldn't help but laugh.

"Yup, I can't disagree. Still, I'd be completely lost without them. They've been really good to me ever since I moved here."

"So you haven't lived in Tokyo long?"

"No, only 3 months." she replied.

"I see."

"Can I ask a question? Are you and Crystal related?" he looked up.

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Well you seemed pretty close the other day, and you went home together." Alexia answered.

"You're very observant, Alexia. She's my step sister." he told her.

"Oh, so your parents are divorced?" she asked cautiously.

"They were, but recently my father passed away."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I didn't know him that well. "

_Well, that was a great way to kill a conversation! _Alexia couldn't help but think as they stood in silence.

"So…what brought you to this area?" she changed the subject quickly.

"My mother and step father. They decided it was time for a change of scenery. How about you?"

"My father, he's a vet and he got a job as the main vet at the local surgery. So, how long have you been dancing? You're awfully good." she complimented.

"Why thank you. I have been dancing since I was three years old; how about you?"

"The same." Matthias took a deep breath and looked at Alexia with a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

"I better get straight to the point and say what I came here to say." Alexia tilted her head.

"W…what is it?" she stammered, her heart was racing as he looked into her eyes. She suddenly felt nervous again - was he going to tell her some terrible secret? Make her realise the reason why she had been so frightened of him at first?

She finally decided that she simply had a rather crazy imagination.

"I know it's rather sudden and all, but I was wondering…would you like to perhaps go to the cinema with me sometime?" he blurted out. Alexia's eyes widened with surprise and she gasped.

"I'd…love to!" she spluttered, amazed. Matthias breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, that's great! I was worrying that you might turn me down." Alexia couldn't stop herself from chuckling nervously. "Anyway, now I've done that I'd better go - I'll see you at practice tomorrow, right?" she nodded. "Goodbye, then."

"'Bye, Matthias." she replied dazedly as he walked away. _I can't believe it_, she thought, _I'd better get back and tell the others_! She ran back to the temple, hardly able to feel the ground beneath her feet.

x x x x x

"So, Nerissa, how is Caliban?" An hour after her meeting with Lucilius, Nerissa found herself in another, as Florizel had decided to call upon her. He was a tall, dark-haired, bearded, square-jawed man, who one could tell was important and respected just by looking at him. His eyes, the same shade of brown as the hair on his head and face, shone with curiosity as he asked his question.

"He is quite concentrated on the mission at hand but I don't think it will be too long before his head is turned by Charon…"

The man laughed, "And whilst we're on that subject…?"

"I believe we have located her," Nerissa smiled, crossing one leg over the other casually.

"My, that _was_ quick." he remarked, raising his eyebrows.

"But…" His orange-haired companion continued. "If she isn't who I think she is then we have a major problem…"

"Which is?" Florizel inquired suspiciously.

"Well, I am convinced that Charon is living in the guise of a girl named Alexia Risolto. I have ran details through the probability computer and it agrees with my hypothesis completely. Caliban, however, is not aware of my assumption, and I am not planning to tell him. The problem is that Caliban seems to be quite taken with her and so if this girl is _not_ Charon…" she paused.

"Ahh, I see," Florizel nodded, and looked her deeply in the eye. "However, Nerissa, you know I have great faith in you, continue with your plan." she turned her head away from him slightly, teasingly avoiding his gaze. "I must leave you in a moment, I cannot risk being seen by Caliban," he looked towards the door, as if expecting the youth to walk through that second. "However, first of all I have a gift for you." he reached into the pocket of his blue tunic and pulled out a small box, inside which was a silver ring beset with a clear stone.

"My, Florizel, is this really the right time for a proposal?" Nerissa inquired playfully, her green eyes admiring the ring. The man chuckled at her remark.

"Not at all. I shall use this ring to inform you when I want us to meet," he explained. "The jewel is a button, which can be used to send a signal to me or to stop a signal being sent to you."

"Useful." Nerissa remarked, taking the box from him. Florizel got up from his seat.

"I shall return tomorrow for another progress report. Farewell, Nerissa." he turned to look at her again. "Oh yes, and for tonight's attack I suggest using Gardreth."

"Interesting choice," his companion remarked. "As you wish. Goodbye, Florizel." she waved at him as he teleported out of the spaceship. Just a second after the man disappeared Caliban walked in looking very pleased with himself. "And what have _you_ been up to?" the woman questioned, feeling relieved that he hadn't walked in earlier.

"I went to see Alexia." he told her simply. Nerissa's face turned pale with shock.

"You…what?!" she exclaimed. "Well, what happened?"

"I asked her to go to the cinema with me…I was researching Earth customs and apparently it's a very common thing to do."

"WHAT?!" Nerissa couldn't believe her ears. "You only met her yesterday, you hardly know her! I don't believe you!" Caliban smiled.

"Believe it; I am only trying to fit in like you suggested. And if you want to know, she agreed to it." Nerissa sat down with a look of amazement in her eyes. "I also met her friends. Anyway, what have you been doing in my absence?" he sat up straight and replaced his love struck expression with a serious one.

"While you've been gallivanting around _I've_ been to see Lucilius - we attack tonight." Nerissa told him. Caliban's eyes narrowed.

"Good, and who will be our warrior?"

"Gardreth."

"Very well. Let us prepare a strategy…"

x x x x x

"I really can't believe it! You're sooo lucky, Alexia!"

"You've only known him for a day and already he asks you to the movies!"

"I'm _so_ jealous!" the Scouts were discussing Alexia's forthcoming date with Matthias, even though she was refusing to call it a date.

"Wait, guys, I'm sure he only meant it as a friendly thing! Like Lita said we only met yesterday and he's only just moved to the area, so he's probably just trying to make friends!" Alexia exclaimed.

"No way! If he wanted to make friends he would've told you to bring some people along - he wants to be _alone_ with you!" Mina grinned.

"I saw the way he was looking at you…he's got a crush on you!" Serena squealed. Alexia blushed fiercely.

"Stop it!"

"Yeah, stop embarrassing her!" Rei defended. "I think he's just trying to get to know her because they've gotta work together."

"Thank you, Rei." Alexia said gratefully. However Lita shook her head.

"Nahh, he's crazy about her! It was written all over his face."

"Hey, I have an idea, let's discuss this over ice cream!" Serena suddenly exclaimed. The group fell silent and stared at her, amazed at her ability to bring food into any subject in a second. "What? I'm hungry!"

"I think that's a great idea, and just to shut you guys up I'll pay!" Alexia announced, pleased that the subject had been changed.

"Wicked cool!" Serena danced around. The others sweatdropped.

"Are you sure that was a wise decision, Alexia?" Amy asked. The dark-haired girl nodded.

"Anything just to stop the discussions about my love life!"

"Ahhh! You said _love_!! So it _is_ a date!" Lita teased.

"No it isn't!" Alexia argued.

"Why are you blushing Alexia?" Serena joined in with the teasing.

"Be quiet or there'll be no ice cream!"

x x x x x

"Gardreth! I call upon you!" Unfortunately for Serena and the other Scouts Nerissa happened to be stood near the very ice cream parlour they were heading to. In her hand was a small blue bottle which she removed the stopper from. Grey smoke billowed out and transformed into a huge blue and silver robotic looking creature.

"I am Gardreth." it growled. "What do you desire of me?" Nerissa smiled with satisfaction.

"I'm having a triple hot fudge sundae!" Serena sang as the group arrived at the door of the parlour.

"Serena, I don't have much money." Alexia sighed. "Why am I beginning to regret what I said?"

"Don't worry, we'll all chip in." Mina reassured her.

"Yeah, if we just left you to pay Serena would make you broke!" Rei muttered.

"I heard that Rei!" Serena shouted. The fiery-tempered brunette was about to respond when she felt a cold feeling rush down her spine, causing her to shudder.

"What's wrong?" Amy asked.

"I can sense something." Rei murmured, looking around her.

"Me too." Estrella lifted her head up.

"Same here." Artemis and Luna added. A scream suddenly ripped through the air.

"Look…what _is_ that?!" a crowd was forming inside at the window.

"I have a feeling that can't be a good sign." Mina muttered.

"Lets go Scouts!" Serena announced, running in the direction of the scream.

"Am I dreaming? Did Serena just act like a leader?!" Rei was astounded.

"Don't count on it. She probably wants to get this sorted out as soon as possible so she can stuff her face." Lita remarked as they followed.

"Help! Ahhhh!" a woman sprinted past the Scouts as they ran to where the disturbance was.

"Wow, look at that!" Lita pointed at Gardreth, who was just stood in the middle of the road.

"Scouts - transform!" Luna ordered. The girls nodded.

"Mercury Star Power - Make Up!"

"Mars Star Power - Make Up!"

"Jupiter Star Power - Make Up!"

"Venus Star Power - Make Up!"

"Charon Moon Power - Make Up!"

"Moon Crystal Power - Make Up!"

"What _is_ that thing?" Sailor Charon exclaimed, staring at the robot.

"It looks like something I saw in a sci-fi film once…" Venus murmured absent-mindedly. Gardreth was holding onto the back of a car, laughing as the wheels screeched as the terrified driver tried to escape.

"Whatever it is it's causing trouble! Jupiter Thunder - Crash!" Sailor Jupiter made no hesitation in attacking the robot. Gardreth, distracted by Jupiter's perfectly aimed shot, turned around but didn't even attempt to retaliate. In fact it just stood looking at the Scouts. "Weird." The brunette scratched her head.

"Mars Celestial Fire - Surround!" Mars tried next, however Gardreth just continued to stand still. Mercury was tapping away on her computer when she suddenly exclaimed:

"Watch out - he's absorbing the energy from your attacks!" almost as soon as she made her comment Gardreth's eyes started to glow brightly, then a beam of energy shot out straight at his opponents. The Scouts scattered.

"Confusion Ray - Baffle!" Charon went next, however her attack proved even less successful as the rival easily deflected it with its hand. "Damn, how could I be so stupid?! It's a robot, it hasn't got a mind!" she exclaimed, hitting herself on the forehead.

"My turn! Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mercury finally managed to gain an advantage by freezing Gardreth's face, whilst Venus wrapped him up using her Love Chain attack.

"Now, Sailor Moon, while we have him trapped!" Mars called out; the blonde Scout leader nodded and her Sceptre appeared.

"Moon Sceptre - Activation!" she called, and sparks flew off Gardreth as he turned into dust.

"Hmmm…you know? That was actually really easy." Jupiter commented.

"Yeah, too easy." Mars said suspiciously.

"Look - up there!" Venus called, pointing into the sky. Nerissa floated down.

"So, you're the Sailor Scouts," she smiled saucily. "I have heard many things about you and now I can see it was all true. You're very powerful."

"Who are you?" Charon demanded. Nerissa smiled, flicking her orange hair over her shoulder.

"All in good time, Charon, all in good time." she vanished. The green-haired Scout turned to the others.

"How did she know I was Charon?" she asked, and the others shrugged.

"Who cares? Let's go get that ice-cream!" Sailor Moon grinned, throwing her arms up in the air. The others rolled their eyes.

"What did I tell you?" Jupiter exclaimed, her arms spread out.

"Typical, she's only thinking about her stomach again." Mars remarked, albeit light-heartedly.

"But Sailor Moon's right, I think we earned it." Charon smiled, linking arms with Serena. "C'mon, let's go get that triple fudge sundae!"

Meanwhile Caliban was stood nearby, watching his newest adversaries.

"So, there they are…the Sailor Scouts." he remarked, looking at each of them carefully. "They don't look like they should be too hard to deal with." his eyes fell on Sailor Charon. "And _you_, my little kitten, shall soon be facing Lucilius…"


	5. A Date with Destiny?

4 - A Date with Destiny?

"Argh I'm sooo nervous! I shouldn't be _this_ nervous, should I? I mean, it's only a friendly trip to the cinema, right? With the hottest guy I've ever seen! Argh!" Alexia was a wreck, she was pacing around her room in a dressing gown, her usually plaited hair fell down her back in a wavy mass. Mina smiled from her position on the desk chair.

"Alexia you're rambling, now take a deep breath and calm down." the panicked girl sat down on her bed and gasped for air. Estrella shook her head.

"She's been like this all day. I went to meet her from school and Rei told me she was late _and_ she failed an English test." Artemis sighed.

"All this fuss for nothing, if she doesn't get dressed soon she'll be late!" Alexia leapt up.

"Argh! I haven't dressed, done my hair, or anything!" Mina laughed.

"Alexia calm _down_! I swear I've never seen you this agitated since ever! I _know_ Matthias is gorgeous, but like you said it's only a friendly date…"

"Don't say that word!" Alexia screamed, then leant into her friend's face. "This. Is. Not. A. Date!" Mina simply laughed again.

"Ahhh, poor Alexia doesn't want to admit that Matthias has the world's biggest crush on her!" Alexia's face turned red as she pulled on a white ribbed turtle neck sweater and a red skirt which she had borrowed from Rei.

"He doesn't have a crush on me! Now are you going to help with my hair?"

"Yes, if you can sit still for a few seconds." Alexia stuck her tongue out at the blonde and sat down on the floor in front of her. Mina grabbed a brush and gently began to run it through the Charonian's soft dark hair. Suddenly Alexia screamed again. "What now?"

"What if there's another _attack_ tonight?!" she squeaked. Mina looked towards the cats inquisitively.

"Errrm…good point." Estrella stood up.

"Don't sweat it, Alexia, tonight's your night off – right, Artemis?"

"Right," the white cat smiled. "I'll tell Luna, we'll only get in touch if it's _really_ necessary, alright?"

"I feel awful about it…but thanks." Alexia smiled gratefully.

x x x x x

Alexia yawned and looked at her watch furtively as she didn't want to let Matthias know that she was bored. Not entirely sure what any of these 'movie' things were about, since there was no such things where he was from, he had just picked a title at random…and it turned out to be the lamest film ever. _I wonder why people enjoy coming to these places so much if all they do is sit in silence in the dark and watch such nonsense?_ He wondered in confusion. Alexia looked up at him and noticed a look of disinterest on his face. He noticed her glances from the corner of his eye and turned to look at her. He smiled as their eyes met.

"This is atrocious! Shall we go?" Alexia breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's the best thing you've suggested all night!" she leapt up.

"Hey sit still down there!" A voice called from behind.

"Sorry!" Alexia hissed as the pair left. "So, where shall we go?" she asked the handsome youth as they walked out of the cinema.

"Well as it's such a beautiful night…why don't we go for a walk in the park?" he smiled down at her again, the moonlight making his silver-grey eyes look even more attractive.

"Sounds perfect." she smiled back dreamily as he took her arm and lead her away.

"See? They look great together!" Mina whispered from nearby.

"The perfect match." Serena sighed romantically. "Just like me and Darien."

"Ha yeah right, Serena." Lita teased. The blonde opened her mouth to protest. "Chill out, I was just teasing! It's a shame Amy couldn't come - this is _way_ better than studying!"

"Uuuh guys, do you really think we should be doing this? If Luna finds out we were spying on Alexia instead of patrolling…and if _Alexia_ found out, she'd be so angry!" Rei commented.

"Awww don't be such a worry-wart! Come on, they're getting away!" Mina exclaimed. The group of girls giggled and followed their friend.

Matthias and Alexia walked along in complete silence. Neither of them was sure what to say.

"So…Risolto is a strange surname." Matthias commented to break the ice. Alexia smiled.

"Yes, it's Italian. My father originated from there."

"Oh, does it have any meaning?"

"Yes, it actually means 'resolved'."

"Resolved…that suits you." Matthias sat down on a bench. "You looked so determined to get the lead role at the audition…" Alexia smiled.

"That's what everyone says." the girl joined him. "So how about you? Tell me more about your family."

"Well I live with my mother, step father and Crystal. My parents divorced two years ago and my mother remarried last year. I get on quite well with Crystal and my step father, he's a really friendly guy."

"How did he and your mother meet?"

"That's quite a funny story actually…my mother was a dancer when she was younger and…" he began.

"Look at them, so sweet!" Serena squeaked joyfully.

"They look like they're really getting on." Mina smiled.

"Yeah." Rei agreed.

"…And so Yosho, that's my step father's name, said 'That can't be right, if I recall correctly Megumi was an ugly girl!' and with that my mother threw a glass of red wine all over his new white shirt! She apologised later, naturally, and Yosho said 'You know I really like a woman with an attitude - how about a date?' mom said 'With the man who once thought I was ugly? How about Friday?'" Alexia giggled.

"At least it had a happy ending, do you ever wonder what would've happened if she hadn't apologised?" Matthias nodded.

"I'm just glad she did." silence reigned once more. "Soo…"

"So…are you ready for rehearsal tomorrow?"

"As ready as I'll ever be - Ms. Yakamori can be a real slave driver!"

"Tell me about it! When I first joined the group the first thing she made me do was perform in front of everyone by myself! That could've been an embarrassing situation, don't you think?" Matthias laughed.

"No way, you're a brilliant dancer - I don't think I've seen anyone as good as you since…" he quickly stopped himself before saying 'since Princess Charon'.

"Since…?" Alexia urged.

"Since my mother. I've seen pictures and stuff - she looks so graceful in them."

"I'd like to see them one day, if that's alright."

"I'll…see what I can do." he noticed she was shivering. "You're cold. Here have my jacket." he quickly pulled it off and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Awwwwww!!" the girls squealed from the bushes, causing Alexia to jump.

"What was that?" she asked.

"What was what?" Matthias looked confused. Alexia shook her head.

"I thought I heard voices, that's all." she looked at her watch and sighed sadly. "I better get going home Matthias, my parents will begin to worry…" Matthias nodded understandingly.

"I'll walk you back." he told her.

"Thanks a lot." she stood up and as she did Matthias's jacket fell from her shoulders to the ground. The couple both bent down to pick it up and as they did the youth's hand came to rest on Alexia's. Standing up, hands still entwined, their eyes met and Alexia felt butterflies in her stomach. The girls hidden in the bushes all took a deep breath in expectation as they stared at the pair who stood in the moonlight, unable to tear their eyes away from one another.

Finally Alexia cleared her throat and smiled bashfully.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening, Matthias."

"No, thank _you_, Alexia." the youth grinned back at her and they walked away, still holding hands.

"Awww…and just as things were getting interesting!" Mina exclaimed, feeling like she'd been robbed as the group stepped out of their hiding place.

"I seriously thought they were going to kiss!" Serena sulked.

"Come on, let's go, it's freezing out here." Rei responded, rubbing her hands together to keep them warm.

"Good idea." Mina agreed, shivering as they started to walk in the opposite direction to the couple.

x x x x x

"Lift your leg higher Alexia, it looks untidy - much better!" Ms. Yakamori praised the young dancer as she rehearsed with Matthias. The rest of the class looked on in awe as Alexia leapt gracefully into Matthias's arms. "Very good, just watch that leg Alexia. Matthias try to concentrate on your lifting - at one point I thought you were going to drop her! Anyway do your stretching exercises then you can go home. Ok, the girls who are the maids in waiting - let me see how you're getting on…"

"Good job, Alexia." Matthias grinned as they headed towards the dressing rooms after cooling down.

"You too, Matthias." she felt herself blushing fiercely as he looked at her. She couldn't think of anything to say for a moment as his gaze caused her mind to empty. "So…ummm…" she faltered. "I had a really great time last night, by the way."

"So did I, but I told you that already." the youth smiled. "I'm so sorry the film was bad, though."

"Hey, it wasn't _that_ bad…" the words left Alexia's mouth before she really thought about them.

"Don't lie!" Matthias said, nudging her playfully. "You looked like you were going to fall asleep! Either that or walk out…"

"Well, we _did_ walk out, didn't we?" Alexia's pale blue eyes shone merrily.

"Yeah…but I thought at one point you were going to leave _without_ me!" the blonde exclaimed.

"You think that I'd really do that?!" Alexia exclaimed, feigning disbelief. The pair laughed, Alexia absent-mindedly placing her right hand on his left shoulder as they faced each other.

"Anyway I was wondering, do you think we could perhaps go out again sometime soon?" Matthias inquired as soon as their laughter died down. Alexia blinked her wide eyes, unable to believe her ears.

"O…of course! I'd love to!" she exclaimed.

"Good, because I really enjoy your company." her male companion told her, causing her to blush again.

"Hey, maybe we could invite Serena and Darien too, I think you and Darien would get along really well." she suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea, I really need to make some new friends around here." Matthias grinned.

"Cool, I'll ask them when I next see them. I'd better go and get changed now." she waved as she entered the girl's changing room.

"'Bye, Alexia." he responded. Pushing his hair back with his hands

he entered the male changing room nonchalantly.

"Hey, Matthias!" one of the other male dancers called over to him. "What's going on with you and Alexia? You looked real friendly out there!" Some of the others snorted and nudged each other knowingly. The boy known as Matthias to his fellow dancers turned sharply to glare at them, his grey eyes glittering dangerously.

"That is none of your business," he growled fiercely, definitely more like Caliban than his alter-ego. "And so if I were you I would keep my nose out." The dancers fell silent in an instant and went back to what they were doing before, not liking the threatening look in the youth's eyes one bit. Caliban looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes still narrowed.

_I cannot allow myself to become distracted from the mission. _He told himself firmly._ However, it is hard not to be distracted by such a beauty…_

"Here she comes!" Lita called as Alexia walked out of the dance school.

"She's with Matthias!!" Serena squealed excitedly.

"Hey you guys, what are you doing here?" Alexia grinned as she jogged up, Matthias close behind.

"We were bored, so we thought we'd come and meet you!" Mina smiled. "Rei's working, and Amy's studying as usual."

"Oh, right."

"Alexia, I have to go. It was nice to see you all again." Matthias smiled at the group then walked away. As soon as he was in the distance Mina grinned at her.

"So, how was class?" she inquired.

"Fine thanks." Alexia replied. "Oh and before I forget, Serena, I've got to ask you if you and Darien would like to go on a double…" she still couldn't bring herself to say the word 'date'.

"Double…?" Serena repeated inquiringly. "Double date?" she finally suggested. Alexia nodded and the blonde screamed excitedly and jumped up and down. "Yes, oh yes, oh yes!! As long as we don't end up spending the whole night in the freezing cold like yest-" she was cut off by Lita slamming a hand over her mouth.

"Sereeeenaaaaa…" she growled. Alexia's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What's last night got to do with any- wait a minute, did you guys…" her friends sweatdropped. "You _did_, didn't you? You spied on us!!" they could tell by her expression that she was unimpressed and very angry. "I _knew_ I heard voices! Okay, how many of you were there?" Mina stepped forward with her head hung low.

"Myself, Serena, Lita and Rei." she murmured, her long blonde hair covering her face.

"Rei as well?! I thought she'd have more sense! Then again I thought better of _all of you_!" she spun around on her heel and stormed off.

"Alexia, please wait up!" Mina pleaded. "We just wanted to make sure everything went smoothly."

"Leave me alone!" she snapped. She really couldn't believe it - her friends had spied on her date! Wait - had she just said date? She shook her head and continued her walk home.

x x x x x

"You've been awfully quiet since last night," Nerissa remarked as Caliban played with the ship's computer. "How was your date with the wonderful Alexia?" the blonde youth sighed.

"It was perfect - _she_ is perfect." Nerissa nodded solemnly. _I just hope she's Charon_, she thought to herself. _Otherwise we have a rather large problem on our hands_.

"Lucilius has been in touch, by the way," she spoke up again. "We are to try and capture the Scouts again-" she paused for a moment as a strange sensation ran up from the middle finger of her left hand right to her shoulder. On that finger was the silver ring that Florizel had given her, and at that moment it was vibrating slightly - a signal that she was wanted. "I'm going to see if I can find a good spot to strike. Why don't you go and choose a nice warrior for the job?" she concluded, casually placing her right hand over her left in order to stop the odd tickling sensation by pressing the jewel-button on the ring.

"Fine by me." Caliban muttered, getting out of his chair to go to a small room in the back. Nerissa teleported out as soon as he was preoccupied, and found who she had been contacted by in a small clearing nearby.

"Florizel." she greeted him, smiling. The man turned to face her and smiled back, his dark eyes sparkling in the sunlight which filtered through the surrounding trees.

"Ah, here you are, Nerissa," he responded in his deep and very pleasant voice. "I trust you are well?"

"Very much so; if not even better for seeing you," her green eyes softened as her smile broadened. "Anyhow, I am sure you are not here for small talk. So, what is our next step?" the man stepped closer to her and spoke in a quieter voice:

"I want you to follow this Alexia girl you were talking about, I want you to be certain that she is Sailor Charon."

"Very well, if it pleases you." she responded, nodding her head slightly.

"Very good," he placed his hand on her cheek, giving her an approving look. "I am very proud of you." he stated, looking deep into her eyes. "Farewell for now, Nerissa."

"Until we meet again." she murmured, feeling her face heat up slightly as he teleported away.

x x x x x

"Alexia you must calm down! Mina's very upset that you put the phone down on her!" Artemis exclaimed from the window ledge.

"No! She had no right to follow us around!" Alexia said back. She was still furious and refused to talk to any of her friends except Amy.

"Please, they were only making sure everything was alright. They were actually meant to be patrolling but when they saw you coming out of the cinema they couldn't help themselves!" Amy explained. She had come over earlier to try and see if she could smooth things over.

"It's no use Amy. She'll get over it soon, I'm sure." Estrella sighed. Suddenly a communicator bleeped.

"Quick, come to the park, there's a disturbance." Rei announced over it.

"I'm on my way…Alexia?" Amy looked at her hopefully.

"Sorry." Alexia sighed. "I can't." the blue-haired genius nodded sadly and ran out followed by Artemis.

"Alexia, you should be fighting!" Estrella scolded. "You shouldn't put some petty argument in front of the fate of the world!"

"Leave me alone Estrella." the girl muttered, resting her arms on the desk then her head on her arms. Estrella sighed with frustration and stalked out of the room to catch up with the others.

x x x x x

"Whispero! I call upon you." Caliban opened the Aathean bottle to release the creature then vanished. The warrior that emerged from the container was a tall pale yellow thing with 6 extremely long and bony arms and bright blue eyes. One pair of arms covered its mouth, whilst the other two pairs bared sharp, thin claws.

"There - look!" Rei yelled as she pointed at the monster. Nerissa watched the group from nearby.

"Hmmm…no Alexia, but still it looks like I have located the other Scouts." she murmured to herself, placing a finger to her lips in a thoughtful manner.

"Mercury Star Power - Make Up!"

"Mars Star Power - Make Up!"

"Jupiter Star Power - Make Up!"

"Venus Star Power - Make Up!"

"Moon Crystal Power - Make Up!" right before Nerissa's eyes the group transformed. She smiled contentedly.

"So, we have Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Mercury and Sailor Moon - but no Charon; perfect, my hypothesis still holds true."

"Scouts - attack!" Luna ordered. She turned to Estrella. "Where's Charon?"

"Not coming, she's still feeling bitter about last night." The smaller cat admitted nervously. Luna gave her an admonishing look, as if to tell the kitten she hadn't tried enough. "I'm sorry," Estrella continued quickly, in order to prove she _had_ tried. "I know she's being a bit selfish."

"This is not like Alexia, she's usually so enthusiastic and a real team player." Luna muttered. "I think this Matthias is distracting her."

"Teenage girls – I'll _never_ understand them." Artemis commented, shaking his head.

"Mars Fire - Ignite!" Mars attacked Whispero from behind as it was distracted by the cold mist that had been created by Sailor Mercury. All of a sudden the creature's bottom pair of arms stretched out behind it like elastic and grabbed Mars tightly, taking her by complete surprise. Despite the weak appearance of Whispero's arms their grip on the Scout was formidable. "Watch out guys!" she managed to call out as she struggled.

"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" Jupiter fired at it, but somehow the attack was deflected straight back at the Scout. "What's this? A force field?" she groaned after falling to her hands and knees.

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" Venus gained the monster's attention but unfortunately was grabbed by the other pair of arms.

"Help!" the blonde screamed as she and the half-unconscious Mars were lifted high into the air. Jupiter was still trying to get back to her feet and Mercury's attacks were simply being deflected by the force field Whispero had put up. Sailor Moon just froze, looking scared as all her friends were being beaten.

"You must do something Sailor Moon!" Mercury called to her. The leader's blue eyes widened as she realised her team mate was right.

"Moon Tiara Magic!" she snatched her tiara from her forehead and flung it with all her might at Whispero. With a flash of light it shattered the force field and hit the creature right in the stomach. The strength of the attack caused Whispero to immediately let go of Venus and Mars. Venus nimbly landed on her feet and, fortunately for the now totally comatose Mars, Jupiter had found her second wind and managed to catch the falling Scout before she hit the ground.

"Nice move, girlfriend!" Sailor V grinned, giving Sailor Moon the thumbs up.

"Mars, are you okay?" Mercury asked worriedly as the pale-faced girl came to.

"Yeah, I just needed some air." The raven-haired Scout murmured shakily. The girls were so distracted by their celebrations and concerns that none of them noticed as Whispero removed its hands from its mouth.

"Scouts, watch ou-" Artemis yelled, noticing the creature's action, however he was cut off as Whispero began to emit a piercing noise that cut through the Scouts' and cats' brains like a blunt knife. They all fell to the floor screaming and groaning, their hands covering their ears.

Little did they realise help was at hand…

"Oh no, please don't let me be too late!" Alexia gasped as she heard the screams. Not long after Estrella's departure the girl had agonised over her decision – how could she let something so stupid stand in the way of helping her friends? If something terrible were to happen to the other Scouts she'd never be able to forgive herself. With that realisation she'd dashed out of the house to where Rei had said the disturbance was. She pulled out her transformation pen and thrust it high into the air

"Charon Moon Power - Make Up!"

Nerissa, who had been watching the Scouts squirm with a serious expression on her face, heard the cry and turned just in time to see her theory proven. Alexia Risolto was indeed Sailor Charon.

"Just what I wanted to see." She murmured, a smile creeping onto her face.

Sailor Charon ran out from where she'd hidden to transform and saw the effect Whispero's high-pitched shrieking was having on her friends. Somehow managing to block out the hideous sound in order to save her friends she struck:

"Charon Psy-Wave!" the Scouts looked up as the sound was suddenly cut off.

"What the…?" Jupiter muttered as Whispero fell to his knees.

"Charon!" Sailor Moon exclaimed as she spotted the girl behind the weakened creature.

"You came!" Estrella cried out joyfully, feeling less of a failure. Sailor Charon smiled and shrugged.

"I couldn't've lived with myself if something had happened to you guys." She admitted, walking over to them. "And it looks like I arrived just in time!"

"You certainly did." Mercury smiled at her, and the green-haired Scout took a deep breath.

"Look, I was stupid, I'm so sorry for- agh!" her apology was cut short by Whispero, who had covered its mouth again and now held the Charonian Scout in its cruel grasp.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, her hands on her hips.

"Ummm…yes, but while you're shouting at it Charon's being crushed!" Mars yelled. "Celestial Fire-"

"Stop!" Mercury cried, halting the Martian before she could attack. "You're going to hit Charon – the creature's using her as a shield!" she was right – Whispero was holding Charon, whose head was lolling to one side, close to its body. Its blue eyes jeered the Scouts; but of course the girls weren't beaten yet.

"One…two…three – scatter!" Mercury called out, and the Scouts did as they were told.

"Hey ugly, over here!" Venus yelled, waving to Whispero from her position.

"No, here!" Jupiter joined in from where she was stood, directly opposite to the blonde. The pair continued to keep shouting to Whispero in turn in order to keep him distracted whilst the other three Scouts assembled behind it:

"Moon Tiara Magic!"

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Mars Celestial Fire – Surround!" the three attacks combined just as they hit Whispero squarely in the back; and Charon was released at once.

"Now, Sailor Moon!" Venus yelled.

"Moon Sceptre Activation!" the Scout leader swung the Sceptre around her expertly before firing a powerful beam of energy at Whispero, who quickly shrivelled up and turned into a pile of dust.

"Sailor Charon!" Venus called out in concern, running to her friend. The others joined her swiftly, worried for their friend's welfare.

"I'm okay guys." She smiled weakly but reassuringly as she sat up. "And now I can finish what I was saying – I'm so sorry for being so petty."

"No, _we're_ sorry." Sailor Venus hugged her.

"Apology accepted." Charon responded, smiling at her friends as they helped her to her feet.

"Group hug!" Sailor Moon announced, throwing her arms around Mercury and Jupiter. The others complied, laughing merrily as they did so. "Well, what a nice reunion." Nerissa appeared above them, her arms folded over her chest as she regarded them coolly.

"You again!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, annoyed that their moment of happiness had been interrupted. The orange-haired woman nodded.

"Yes, let me introduce myself." She floated down to stand in front of them. "My name is Nerissa and it is very nice to make your acquaintance."

"Can't say I feel the same." Jupiter muttered. "Anyway, enough with the small talk - what do you want?"

"All will be revealed soon enough, Sailor Jupiter. So, Scouts, until the next time we fight." Nerissa held her hand up to wave then vanished in a bright flash of light.

"What's going on? Why do bad guys always have to be so cryptic!" Venus muttered. Meanwhile Charon was stood in deep thought.

"I'm _sure_ I've seen her somewhere before, there's something so familiar about her!"


	6. An Unwelcome Discovery

5 - An Unwelcome Discovery.

"Hmmmmm…" Alexia scanned down the menu. "I'm gonna have gnocchi di spinachi e ricotta. What about you guys, what would you like?"

"I'll have the calzone." Matthias told her.

"I'll try the petti di pollo al limone." Darien announced.

"I don't know…" Serena moaned. "It's all in Italian! What do _you_ recommend Alexia?"

"Nearly everything's nice here Serena! Wait I'll ask the waiter what he thinks." Alexia looked around for a waiter. "Mi scusi!" she called to one nearby, he walked up.

"Sì, signora?"

"Cosa raccomanda Lei?"

"Ahhh, le consiglierei cozze, panne e aglio, è molto bene." Alexia smiled.

"What did he say, is it nice?" Serena implored.

"Well, if you like mussels, bread and garlic, then yes."

"Eeeew mussels - gross!" Serena exclaimed.

"Siete pronto a scegliere?" the waiter asked.

"Quasi, uno momento per favore." Alexia turned back to her confused friend. "Hmmm…try the macaroni con pomodori, that's pretty safe."

"Okay, I'll have that, then." Serena agreed; Alexia turned to the waiter.

"Vorremmo gnocchi di spinachi e ricotta, calzone, petti di pollo al limone e macaroni con pomodori, per favore." the waiter nodded and took down the order.

"Non c'è altro?"

"No, grazie." the waiter took the menus and left.

"Wow," Serena exclaimed, "You're soooo good at Italian!" Alexia blushed.

"Well it does help when half of your family is fluent in the language and you spend every summer in Italy from when you're very young." she explained.

"That makes sense." Darien remarked. "So you two, how's the recital coming along?"

"Very well, thank you." Matthias replied. "Alexia's very talented and so she's picked up the dances very quickly." Alexia once again blushed.

"Oh stop it Matthias! You picked them up quickly too, or else there would've been no way we could've danced together!" Serena looked at Darien and he gave her a knowing smile.

"So, this restaurant is very nice, do you come here often Alexia?" Darien asked.

"Oh, yes it's my family's favourite." she answered just as the food arrived. "Wait until you taste the food, it's divine." she grinned, picking up her fork. Serena eagerly tucked in.

"Yummmm!!" she exclaimed. "This is good!"

"Yes, it's very good." Darien smiled.

"This is delicious – here, Alexia, try it." Matthias offered his fork to Alexia, who ate off it, once again blushing fiercely. The other couple once again smiled at each other.

"Mmmm…I love calzone." she said. Matthias looked at her, _she looks so lovely tonight_, he thought as he admired the pretty blue dress she was wearing. Her hair was up in a tight bun rather similar to the way she wore it at ballet class but with a single silver chopstick diagonally through it. On the end of the chopstick was a sparkling rhinestone star. _I certainly could get used to this_, he said to himself in his head, _if it weren't for Lucilius and my mission I actually don't think I'd mind living the rest of my life in this form…as long as I could be with Alexia_…

x x x x x

"It - was - amazing!" Alexia sighed as she walked into her room. Mina grinned as she followed her. She had been waiting for her friend's return so she could get the details of the evening out of her. "Matthias looked gorgeous and Serena actually managed not to drop, smash or spill anything all night!"

"Wow, it's a miracle." Mina laughed. "So the food was okay?"

"Of course, it always is at Lucia's." Alexia threw herself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Oooh Mina, I wish _all_ of us had boyfriends, then we could've gone out in a huge group and you all could've got to know Matthias better! That would have been so, so cool!"

Alexia sat up again as Estrella jumped in through the window.

"So, your date was good then?"

"Fantastic, Estrella. Where have you been?" the ginger cat curled herself up on the bed.

"Myself, Luna and Artemis had a meeting about the attacks. We tried to put some kind of pattern to them but so far they've been totally random…apart from Nerissa's always there."

"Hmmmm, there's something with these creatures too - so far they've been quite easy to get rid of." Mina murmured.

"Yeah, I think that Nerissa has something up her sleeve…" Alexia muttered.

"I agree." Mina stood up. "Anyway I'd better let you get some sleep. Goodnight Alexia." Mina smiled as she closed the door behind her.

"Goodnight." Alexia yawned and rolled onto her stomach. "I'm gonna go straight to bed, I'm exhausted!"

"That would be a good idea." Estrella stretched out. "I'm going to go for a little walk, do a bit of patrolling." she leapt onto the window sill.

"Be careful Estrella." Alexia told her. Estrella nodded.

"Aren't I always, Alexia?" with that, she jumped out of the window and landed on the ground neatly. "Sometimes I worry about that girl's lack of sleep, perhaps she should take a few lessons from Serena." she sighed, and wandered off into the night.

x x x x x

_Caliban watched the Earth in profound silence. The Moon's gentle breeze fanned his hair as he contemplated the shining greens and blues of the planet below. He closed his eyes for a brief, contented moment and sighed blissfully. The delicious scents of the delicate white, purple and red flowers around him filled his senses and relaxed him; it was almost like a dream. He left the gorgeous view and wandered through the beautiful gardens that were so lovingly cared for by Queen Serenity's gardeners. The water shooting from the fountains sparkled like diamonds in the starlight. He sat down by one and felt the cool spray on his face and hands, allowing his mind to continue wandering. He could still hardly believe he was here, the place he had heard so much about from his father and Florizel. He went through what had already occurred that day and decided it might possibly be the best day of his life. Meeting the incredibly beautiful Queen Serenity had been one thing that had especially filled him with joy; however something else had occurred just half an hour before that had been for him the most wonderful thing, so far, about this visit. Queen Serenity had granted him permission to explore the palace at his own leisure, as long as he kept away from certain places which she told him were most definitely out of limits, including the wing where the Princesses' chambers were. So he had wandered around the parts which he could go to, taking in the beauty of the building and its decor. It was just as he had been about the pass the main parlour that it happened. He'd frozen as the door had swung open and 4 girls, ranging from between the ages of 14 to about 17, had rushed out, chattering earnestly amongst themselves about a 'visitor' in the palace (he knew for sure that they had been talking about him). He had been unable to remove his eyes from them - one with short blue hair, another with long flowing purple locks, the third with brown hair pulled into a high ponytail…and then, __her__. _

_The fourth girl, who had shiny, dark green hair which fell to her waist, had been the only one who had sensed his presence as they'd walked in the opposite direction to where he had been stood. She had turned her head enough to look at him and smile. Her eyes had been of the palest blue he had ever seen, almost like the icy sea of Glazos, the first Moon of Reimo, yet radiating a warmth he could not comprehend. Her skin had been pale and pure, like it had never been touched by a single ray of sunlight. As she had smiled the Prince had felt a strange tingling sensation run from the top of his spine right down to the tips of his toes, and his stomach seemed to perform a somersault inside him. However, instead of stopping to say hello the girl had continued along with her companions, rejoining in their conversation. He had thought it very odd at first, but then decided she must have simply been shy._

"_I'm getting really worried now."_

_His dream-like state was broken suddenly by a female voice, murmuring urgently on the other side of a white wall nearby. The girl spoke again as Caliban moved closer to investigate. "She's been practising non-stop almost all day!"_

"_Oh don't be worried, she's just being herself!" the other voice said. "She just desperately wants to please Queen Serenity."_

"_She doesn't need to keep practising so much though! She's already the best dancer in the galaxy; I don't believe I have ever seen her put a foot out of place." _

"_But you know what she's like - that's why we call her Princess Perfectionist! Anyway, I bet she wants to impress that Prince we're being introduced to later." Caliban's curiosity was beginning to get the better of him - who was this girl they were talking about? _

"_Do you think so?" the other girl exclaimed, sounding surprised. "You know, that had never crossed my mind…"_

_The youth decided to walk away, feeling a little bit strange about hearing them talk about someone who could only be him. He stood at the bottom of the palace steps and was debating whether or not to return inside until his introduction to the Princesses or to venture further into the public gardens when a flash of dark green and lilac caught the corner of his eye. Turning his head slightly to the left he saw her - the girl who had turned and smiled at him earlier in the palace! She was stood under an archway, over which beautiful white roses grew. She had one of the blossoms cupped in her hands and was inhaling its fragrance deeply, a look of contentment on her face. Instantly she let go of the flower and fixed her eyes on the youth, her face breaking into that same bright smile she had given him just thirty minutes ago. Her dark hair was now tied in a neat plait which fell down the middle of her back, a soft fringe and two slender sections of hair, which came to an end a little way below her chin, framed her face. She was too far away for him to make out her eyes properly but he just knew that they were sparkling brightly. The fact that she was dressed in a lilac leotard and an ankle-length gossamer skirt made him wonder if she could be the dancer, whom the other two girls had been talking about. All of a sudden she turned away and headed into the gardens, but not before turning her head again slightly and giving Caliban a look that clearly meant only one thing: Follow me._

_Swiftly he did as he was told. Walking quickly but not running he entered the labyrinthine gardens, making sure he kept the girl in sight. Every now and then he thought he'd lost her, but then he'd spot her again, walking slightly slower so he could keep up with her. At last he came to a section of the garden enclosed in high, sweet smelling, pale green hedges of which Caliban had never seen the likes of before. He was sure this part of the gardens was private, but he found himself being drawn closer by the intoxicating scent of exotic flowers and the promise of what lay beyond the hedges - an audience with the mysterious girl. He crept around the hedges, looking for an opening. Finally he found an archway cut into the bushes and carefully stuck his head around to see if he'd come to the right place. His grey eyes widened with amazement when he saw the magnificent garden of blue - ice blue, navy blue, indigo and azure flowers of different shapes and sizes were scattered around the place, casting off their sweet scents into the breeze. However, more incredible than these was the source of his being there. The girl was stood with her back to him, the fingers of her delicate-looking hands entwined behind her. He took a step closer, totally entranced when he, much to his embarrassment, caught the tip of one of his boots under one of the large rocks which separated the garden from the path and fell to the ground with a loud thud. Immediately the girl turned to stare at him with eyes as blue as some of the flowers around her. He felt his heart instantly melt as she moved to stand over him._

_Then, it hardened again and sank._

"_This is a private area - you're trespassing." she announced rather haughtily, turning away again. "Please leave." The blonde youth quickly picked himself up and dusted his clothes down, feeling rather puzzled._

"_I'm…I'm sorry." he apologised rapidly. "I was stood outside the palace when I saw you and I thought that you looked at me and wanted me to follow and so-" _

"_Excuse__ me?!" the girl turned to stare at him again, a horrified expression on her face. "What in the universe would make you think that a girl like myself would want a…a…__person__ like yourself to follow her?!" _

"_I don't know," Caliban responded, flustered. "I just thought that maybe…you liked me?"_

_The girl inhaled sharply and held a hand to her chest as her eyes widened in disbelief. _

"_Sir, are you accusing me of being a…a…seductress?!"_

"_WHAT?!" Caliban couldn't help but splutter loudly. "I never said such a thing!"_

"_But that was what you were implying, wasn't it?" the girl turned away for a second time, and he stared at the back of her head in bewilderment. "I simply cannot believe this!" she exclaimed in her haughty manner. "I cannot believe that some…__handsome__ stranger would have the gall to come into my garden uninvited, accuse me of leading him astray…and not even have the decency to introduce himself!" Her voice grew less haughty and more amused with each word, and Caliban didn't know what to say as she started to giggle to herself, causing her shoulders to shake slightly. __Wait a moment,__ he thought as what she had just said hit him, __she called me handsome!_

"_Oh! Goodness, I am sorry!" he replied, his silver-grey eyes wide. "Please, won't you turn around so I can introduce myself to you properly?" His companion turned around; the radiant smile he had seen before had returned and her eyes sparkled merrily. That strange feeling he'd experienced in the palace returned to his stomach. _

"_Very well." she said gently, and it was then that he knew for sure that she was not at all as snobbish as he had first thought. He took her hand and got down on one knee._

"_My name is Caliban. I am Prince and heir to the throne of the Imperial Planet Reimo of the Lensei galaxy. I am here with my father's trusted adviser and commander of our army, Florizel. He has been invited by Queen Serenity to become part of her court." _

"_Oh I see, so __you're__ the Prince." the girl continued to smile at him as he stood up. "So, why exactly are __you__ here? You did not tell me that." Caliban blushed deeply._

"_It was my father's idea. He wishes for me to find a bride." the girl laughed sweetly._

"_So, he sent you here to meet the Princesses?"_

"_Why, yes. He hopes it will keep good friendship between our planet and your galaxy." __She is so beautiful__, he thought as she led him over to a white marble bench, continuing to keep hold of his hand. "By the way, this garden is incredible. Please tell me where are the flowers are from? I have never seen anything so exquisite." he watched her closely as she looked him deep in the eyes, that radiant smile still playing on her lips._

"_You like them?" he nodded. "They are from my home - Charon."_

"_Charon, I don't believe I have ever been there, where is it?" he inquired._

"_It is the moon of Pluto." she replied softly - to the Prince's ears her voice was like a summer breeze, and at that moment he wished for her to never stop talking. "This garden belongs to me; Queen Serenity arranged for the flowers to be sent here when I was feeling homesick. Usually only myself, my friends and Queen Serenity herself are permitted here."_

"_Oh, so I __am__ trespassing." he murmured, feeling embarrassed. "I'm so sorry for following you, it's just-" his words were halted by one of her soft fingers, which she pressed to his lips._

"_Don't be silly," she chuckled brightly. "You were right - I __did__ want you to follow me! I saw you inside earlier and was…intrigued."_

"_Oh!" the Prince exclaimed, and this time the 'oh' was full of surprise. The girl blushed and looked away and the pair of them fell silent. Finally Caliban spoke up again. "You know, I've just realised I have no idea what your name is!"_

"_My name?" the girl blinked at him, and then raised her hand to her mouth. "Of course, how rude of me! There I am teasing you about not introducing yourself and I haven't even told you who __I__ am! My name is Princess Charon; I am heir to the throne of the Outer Moon, and it is an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance, Prince Caliban."_

"_The pleasure is all mine, honestly." he smiled, stroking her hand, which he now realised was firmly entwined with his. The Princess tilted her head slightly and the stars above made her eyes even more enchanting. _

_Suddenly he could no longer resist. _

_He leant in slowly towards her, feeling her warm breath on his face, his eyes never losing contact with hers. Her lips were full and inviting. Her eyes closed and the Prince's did the same…_

_DONG! DONG! _

_Princess Charon gasped and leapt to her feet as soon as she heard it. _

"_The bell!" she exclaimed, not noticing as Caliban just managed to put his hands down on the bench in time before he toppled over. "Oh my goodness!"_

"_What does that mean?" Caliban inquired, also rising to his feet._

"_It means we're meant to be in the palace! It's time for your formal introduction!" She looked at him, and he could tell she was just as disappointed as he was. "We must leave, Queen Serenity is waiting."_

"_I'm supposed to be meeting Florizel right now." he admitted, silently cursing his luck._

"_Well," she managed to smile. "I shall see you again in only a few moments, I suppose." _

"_Yes, you shall without a doubt, Princess." Caliban sighed rather mournfully; he didn't want this to end now. Although he had only just met her he felt…he wasn't sure what, but it was certainly something he had never felt before. "Come, let's walk to the palace together." he started to walk, but Charon placed a hand on his shoulder to halt him._

"_Wait, I want to give you something before you leave." she said firmly; she walked over to a patch of flowers, which were the same shade of blue as her eyes, and plucked one. She handed it to Caliban, who touched one of the delicate petals. Each one looked like a shard of sharp blue ice and the fragrance was heavenly. "This is called the Charonian Ice Blossom, however on Charon it is known as the…" she hesitated for a moment. "…The Flower of Eternal Love. It is custom for a girl to give it to a boy she…likes." she murmured, once again looking him deeply in the eye. "Please, keep it, I need to know if what I am feeling within myself right now is real." _

"_And how will you know?" the Prince inquired, and the girl looked away from him._

"_When picked the flower can only thrive on the pure emotions that resonate from two people whose souls are destined to be intertwined for eternity. So, if it is dead by the end of the day then it means…"_

"_It means we are not destined for one another." Caliban finished her sentence softly, and she nodded._

"_Correct. Now please, leave. I shall follow shortly. It would not be right for us to be seen together." she told him, gesturing towards the archway._

"_As you wish, Princess." he took her hand again and kissed it, her skin like satin against his lips. After that he turned and left, his eyes fixed firmly on the small flower in his hands. "The Flower of Eternal Love…" he whispered, inhaling its scent once more…_

…His grey eyes opened, and Caliban lay still. For a while he'd thought he really _was_ back in the Moon Kingdom, but no - it had just been a dream. He sat up and instantly regretted it. His head was throbbing so violently that he felt it might explode and it felt like the room was spinning all around him. After shaking himself out of the dizziness he allowed his eyes to grow used to the dullness of his room, the only light coming from an unfamiliar source he could not place the location of. The place was a mess - the remains of what had been a wooden drawer lay in a heap against the wall; clothes strewn everywhere; his wardrobe door ripped away from its hinges and thrown on the floor. For a moment he recollected his thoughts, in order to recall how all of this had happened…

Of course.

Raising his legs to rest his chin on his knees he wondered how he could have got away with smashing up his room like this in the violent rage he always fell into when Quintus's mind control wore off. Back on Lucilius's ship someone had always supervised him (for his own safety, according to Lucilius) and so he had always been placed back under control rather quickly. However this time he knew for sure that this hadn't happened - his dream had been proof enough of that, and even as he sat there memories were slowly beginning to reawaken.

So, why hadn't Nerissa reported to Lucilius?

He wondered if perhaps she wasn't there, and a quick teleport to her chamber proved him correct. Her bed was empty and still made and he doubted that it'd been slept in all night. Teleporting back to his room he decided to tidy up, as he could no longer sleep.

_Thank goodness she isn't here - there's no way she wouldn't've heard me wrecking this place,_ he thought to himself. _Since she doesn't know now then I can't let her know at all. I do not want to be under his control anymore. I have to find Charon myself and somehow make her see the truth…I need to make amends with those people I love._ Peering curiously at the source of the strange light, which he had now discovered was coming from beneath a pile of clothing. He lifted the garments and immediately a gasp of utter surprise left his lips. On the floor was a small glass cube, and within that was the source of the glow that had eerily lit the room…

"The Flower of Eternal Love." he murmured, carefully picking up the cube as if it might shatter at his touch. The light which resonated from the Charonian Ice Blossom's delicate petals caught in the tears in Caliban's eyes, causing them to shine brightly.

After all those centuries the flower was still as perfect as the day Princess Charon had given it to him.

She still loved him after all.

x x x x x

"So, the date was incredible then?" Rei inquired. It was Saturday and Alexia had agreed to spend the day helping her friend at the temple.

"Yes." the green-haired girl sighed, dancing absent mindedly with a broom. "It was the most perfect, romantic, beautiful night I've ever had! The food was excellent, the company interesting…"

"Matthias gorgeous…" Rei butted in. Alexia blushed.

"I _still_ haven't actually met this boy Alexia, when will you let me see him?" Estrella asked.

"Well I'm meeting him at the park later, we're gonna have a picnic." she replied. "Why don't you just do what the others did on my first date and spy?"

"Alexia!" Estrella exclaimed. "You're _still_ bitter about _that_?!"

"No, not really." the girl answered, smiling as she looked at her watch. "I ought to go Rei, I'm sorry I haven't been here very long." Rei waved her hand.

"Forget about it." she smiled. "Go and have fun!"

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." Alexia grabbed her coat and Estrella leapt onto her shoulder. "Bye!"

"See you soon Alexia!" the girl and her cat walked down the stairs.

"I mean it Estrella, come and have a look; I'm meeting him at three." Alexia told her as she looked at her.

"Alright then I will," the ginger cat said. "It'll be interesting to finally see the boy who's stolen your heart!"

x x x x x

"Earth to Caliban…" Nerissa teased as the youth sat thinking about the events of the night before.

"Leave me alone, Nerissa," he muttered. "I'm trying to think."

"What about? _Alexia,_ by any chance?" she said in a sing-song voice, leaning on the back of his seat.

"Hmmph," he folded his arms across his chest. "Actually, I was thinking about Charon; I dreamt of her last night."

"Ahhhh, I see." Nerissa remarked at the prince got to his feet, almost causing her to fall as the seat swivelled.

"I must go now, I will be back in a few hours." he announced.

"Meeting Alexia again?" Nerissa asked, winking playfully. Caliban just ignored her and left. The orange-haired woman fell back into the swivel chair Caliban had just vacated and sighed contentedly.

"You seem very happy today, Nerissa." Florizel commented as he suddenly appeared in front of her.

"I have every right to be." She responded, not bothering to open her eyes.

"Greetings Nerissa, Caliban." the man nodded his head in the direction of the blonde, who remained seated.

"Well, may I learn why you are in such a good mood?" Florizel inquired as he sat down. Nerissa finally looked at him, smiling with pride.

"My theory proved to be correct. Alexia Risolto is indeed the Sailor Scout of Charon."

"Excellent," the man smiled satisfactorily. "Very good work, Nerissa. Everything is going even better than we expected." he looked at his companion seriously. "I think it is time we moved on with the plan. You know what to do next."

"Yes, Florizel, I do."

"Good," he leant back in his chair. "If fate continues to keep on our side as it has so far then our mission will be over soon."

"And it will be a success." the orange-haired woman added. "I shall be thankful when we can return home, I find all this secrecy rather stressful."

"I understand," Florizel said. "But it will be worth it in the end, Nerissa."

"Yes, yes it will be." she said rather dreamily.

x x x x x

"Did you find it difficult to adjust?" Matthias looked down at Alexia, who was resting her head on his lap.

"When I moved?" she replied; he nodded. "Yes I guess I did. New house, new school, new people…it gets better though."

"When you make friends?"

"Yes, friends are great. I don't know what I'd do without mine." she sighed, and he played with the end of her long plait of hair. His mind was still recovering from the evening before, memories were returning to him in confused fragments and he was finding it difficult to keep in character. Alexia kept asking him if he was feeling okay as every now and again he'd become distracted by part of a memory and forget where he was or what he was talking about. He assured her every time that he was merely tired. As he found himself admiring the pretty cream-coloured top she was wearing he couldn't help but notice it had lifted slightly at the bottom, revealing a long white mark on her stomach.

"Alexia, what's that?" he inquired, pointing to the mark. She looked down and lifted her top up a little more to reveal the whole line.

"Oh this, it's a birthmark." she said, running a finger along it. Matthias looked sadly at it, it reminded him of something…

"What's wrong?" Alexia asked him as she noticed the serious expression on his face.

"Oh, nothing." He looked at her and saw how curious she looked, and so simply smiled at her.

Meanwhile Estrella was watching from a tree, a look of horror on her face.

"It can't be…" she exclaimed to herself. "It's just a coincidence, it's _got_ to be!" she leapt onto a lower branch, and suddenly the boy felt her watching and looked up. Estrella stared straight into his unmistakable grey eyes. "No!" she gasped, leaping out of the tree behind the couple below. "I must inform Luna and Artemis!" she ran off in a panic, leaving Alexia and Matthias to their conversation.

"What are you looking at?" Alexia asked him, confused by his rather odd behaviour. He blinked and looked at her again, wondering what the flash of orange he had just noticed in the tree could have been.

"Oh, I thought I saw something in the tree, that's all." he shrugged. "It was probably just a bird."

"Yeah, probably." the Charonian responded.

x x x x x

"Ya know the next time I see that Nerissa?" Lita announced. "I'm gonna get her!"

"Calm down!" Amy exclaimed. "She's not done anything _that_ bad yet!"

"I know…but she's already beginning to annoy me!" Lita sat down.

"I wonder what Alexia and Matthias are doing…" Serena sighed. "Last night was wonderful!"

"Yeah, Matthias seems cool." Darien said.

"Alexia was on cloud nine all morning, I'm surprised we got any work done!" Rei told them.

"Help! We have an emergency!" a voice piped up.

"It's Estrella!" Mina exclaimed, standing up. The little cat gasped for air as she joined the group.

"What's wrong Estrella?" Luna inquired.

"It's…Alexia!" she gasped. "She's in serious trouble!" the group looked at her in confusion.

"Take a deep breath and tell us - what's wrong with Alexia?" Mina said, a hint of concern in her voice.

"She's with Matthias, that's what!" she yelled. "Or should I say Caliban!" the Sailor Scouts looked at one another in bewilderment, however Luna and Artemis stood in front of Estrella in shock.

"Caliban?! Are you _sure_?" Luna exclaimed. Estrella nodded.

"I would never forget those eyes." she whispered, shuddering as she remembered how he'd looked straight at her.

"Hey! What's going on?" Serena moaned.

"Yeah who's this Caliban guy?" Lita demanded.

"Let's just say forget about Nerissa, this guy is serious trouble." Artemis told them. "But how can he still be around? The last time we saw him was back in the Moon Kingdom!"

"Please tell us, why is Alexia in trouble?" Amy inquired.

"It's a very long story," Luna began. "Caliban was the heir to the throne of a planet called Reimo. One day he visited the Moon Kingdom along with his father's adviser and met Charon. They fell in love almost instantly were to be married; however, a few days after the announcement of their engagement Caliban mysteriously disappeared, much to the panic and then misery of Charon. A month later, on the night of Princess Venus's birthday, he reappeared and accused his father's adviser of treason, and was going to kill him. Charon, who had left the party because she was so miserable and couldn't enjoy herself, was fetched by Venus and Estrella, who had left before he had made his announcement concerning the adviser's treachery. Charon had no idea what was happening when she arrived, and was so overjoyed that she ran to him…" The girls, who had been watching Luna's pained face with wide eyes, jumped almost simultaneously as a sob escaped the cat's mouth. "That is when _it_ happened…" she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't go on." she murmured, unable to look at the group. Estrella was sobbing loudly, not wanting to relive the terrible events.

"What happened?" Amy asked the question which all the Scouts and Darien wanted to know the answer to, yet at the same time really didn't. Artemis was the first to find his voice.

"Caliban drew his sword…and there was no way for Charon to avoid it." the girls gasped in horror, Serena squeezing Darien's hand tightly as memories of fighting Neromostro and seeing the seemingly dead Charon lying in a pool of blood came back to her.

"You mean, she was…?" Darien murmured, his blue eyes full of disbelief.

"Yes, she was stabbed." Estrella managed to say between sobs. "And Caliban didn't even so much as bat an eyelid! He just went back to what he was doing before…and then…_he_ appeared."

"Who?" Lita inquired quietly.

"Lucilius." the three cats said together, their voices full of revulsion.

"Who is that?" Amy asked, her hands still trembling from the revelation.

"He was a twisted, evil man, who, after committing many atrocious crimes in the universe, was finally captured by Princesses Charon and Universe and then punished by Queen Serenity's court to live as a small boy for all eternity. He hated this galaxy for that reason." Luna explained.

"That's all they did to him? Doesn't seem very harsh." Lita remarked.

"Oh, but it was for Lucilius. He had real issues, and he hated to be humiliated. Can you imagine a small boy going round claiming to be a feared criminal?" Artemis replied. "He was soon deemed a complete washout by every other lawbreaker in the universe."

"Aah, I see, so everyone just laughed at him?" Amy said thoughtfully. "That was clever of Serenity, but it must have driven him insane…"

"I believe it did, and that's why he decided to abduct and brainwash Caliban." Luna muttered, her eyes narrowed.

"So, what happened after he turned up?" Mina asked.

"Well, you other girls had no choice but to attack, but the cowards ran before you had a chance. After they'd gone you were all so concerned about Charon…we thought she was dead. As it was it turned out she wasn't. She had lost a lot of blood though and was comatose for a week." Luna continued sadly.

"The moment she finally came round was terrible," Estrella shuddered. "I remember being in the room and watching Queen Serenity, Mars and Universe try to hold her down as she struggled and screamed hysterically…it was so frightening, I had to leave."

"It frightened us all." Artemis remarked. "After that she became catatonic; she wouldn't speak, she just lay with her back to anyone who was in the room; that is until her mother, who had been stuck in crucial peace talks with another planet, finally arrived. Then she said just one thing - she wanted to go home."

"She returned to Moon Kingdom a month later, seemingly a lot better," Luna explained. "But then things happened that proved she wasn't."

"The first thing occurred as we walked through the armoury. As soon as she saw a sword she passed out - and after that we made sure she never saw another one again." Estrella took up the explanation again. "Secondly, she couldn't go near the ballroom. The mere thought of it caused her to grow hysterical." she took a breath, and fresh tears started to form in her eyes. "And then…then she did something that still frightens me today when I think about it. Something that none of us could hardly believe Charon would do…"

"What was it?" Rei asked nervously.

"I'll never, ever forget it…" the kitten whispered, the tears once again dampening her fur. "She announced she was feeling much better and we actually thought she was, that was until Princess Mercury pointed out the curious way Charon had said 'goodbye' to them as she'd requested some time alone to myself and Princess Universe. Universe and I rushed to Charon's garden and, thank the Stars, arrived just in time…"

"In time for what?" Serena inquired, pretty sure that it wasn't going to be a tea party.

"Her eyes were wide and glassy, almost as if she were in a trance," Estrella somehow managed to continue, her voice distant as she saw what she was saying in her mind. "Beside her on the bench were a pile of letters…and in her hand was a bottle, which she was raising to her lips – it was some kind of poison." the kitten shook her head, trying to remove the images from her mind's eye. "Universe ran over to her, knocked the bottle from her hand and hit her hard across the face, calling her terrible names that my young ears had never heard before. She was so furious, not only at Charon but at herself for not realising what the girl had been planning to do all along. Charon simply looked up at her blankly, and then behind us…she asked in an emotionless voice, how they could have lied to her and we understood at once what she meant. She was staring at the smoking, ash-covered ground where the Charonian Ice Blossoms, a flower which can only thrive on the true love of a couple once picked, which had been so precious to her, had grown. She had destroyed them all."

"After the suicide bid she once again went back to the Outer Moon with her family," Artemis continued. "And on her return to our kingdom Queen Serenity announced that no one was to ever mention the events concerning Caliban and Lucilius in the presence of Princess Charon again. This was because a decision was made to close off any memories concerning the two of them – including her involvement in the capture of Lucilius."

"She was so much better when she returned to us," Luna spoke up. "There were still moments when she became nervous, although of course she couldn't understand why this was. Chara, who had been the one to put the memory block on her, warned us that it would not last forever – if anything were to remind Charon of any of the events that had been repressed there was a chance the block would come undone." She looked at Serena. "The nightmare Alexia was having about being stabbed was proof that the block was starting to fade – being told that she was a Sailor Scout must have triggered it."

"Do you see why we can't allow them to be together? We cannot allow the past to happen again!" Estrella blurted out. Rei leapt to her feet, suddenly feeling anxious.

"And while we're discussing all of this she's out there with him! He must know who she is, why else would he be hanging around her?" Luna spoke up again.

"We need to find her, _now_!"


	7. Warnings, Ignorance, Confessions

6 - Warnings, Ignorance, Confessions. 

"Where are they?" Estrella muttered as she paced up and down the steps at the front of the Risolto house.

"I'm sure they won't be long now." Artemis replied. The Scouts had rushed off to look for Alexia and had told the cats to meet them at the Risoltos'.

"I'm still having trouble believing Caliban is still around," Luna said out loud. "Are you _positive_ it was him?"

"Yes, as difficult as it is to comprehend, it _was_," Estrella replied. "He looks exactly as he did all those years ago."

"Looks like the old story of the Reimoan Royal Family was true, then." Artemis murmured.

"What story is that?" Estrella inquired.

"It was said that the Royal Family of Reimo were granted a special power, which allowed them to stop themselves ageing if they wished." Luna explained.

"And it looks like Caliban has used the power." Artemis added. The cats sighed.

"What's taking them so long?" Estrella exclaimed.

"Stop being so impatient, they'll be back soon." Luna sighed.

"Alexia!" Rei yelled. "Where can she be?"

"What if Matt…Calib…whoever he is, has kidnapped her?" Mina said nervously.

"Don't think like that!" Lita scolded. "Alexia where _are_ you?" suddenly the bushes started to rustle and the girls froze.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Alexia asked as she appeared, her blue eyes wide with curiosity.

"Looking for you." Amy explained as Serena ran up to her friend and hugged her.

"We were so worried about you!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Is Matthias here?" Lita asked, her green eyes narrowed.

"No! What's all this about?" Alexia said in amazement, struggling out of her friend's embrace. Rei walked over and put her hand on the confused girl's shoulder.

"We have news, let's go back to your house and we'll explain."

"Rei? What's all this about?" she replied. Rei averted her gaze.

"I'm sorry, Alexia." she murmured.

"Guys?" Alexia looked around the group, who all looked a little upset about the situation; finally she threw her arms up in defeat. "Fine, let's go."

x x x x x

Almost one hour later the group was sat in Alexia's room in silence. The only sounds were the ticking of the clock and gentle sobbing. Estrella sighed and looked over at Luna and Artemis, who shook their heads. Lita tickled the ginger cat behind the ears and looked towards Rei, who was stood at the window with her head down. Amy was sat on the bed next to the other two cats with her hands in her lap and watching the clock's second hand move around. Serena and Mina were sat with Alexia between them, her head in her hands. The two blondes looked over the crying girl's head at each other and Mina gently rubbed Alexia's back.

"No!" she suddenly leapt up and glared at each of her friends. "I won't believe it!"

"Alexia," Serena pleaded gently. "Please calm down!" Alexia spun round to glare at her, her eyes burning with rage.

"Why should I?" she snapped. "I have the most perfect afternoon with the most wonderful guy I have ever met…then my so-called friends come along and tell me to stay away from him? What's your problem, are you _jealous_ or something?" her voice cracked and she collapsed on the floor and once again began to sob. "It's not fair!" she wailed. Rei turned from the window to look at her distressed friend. Biting her lip she wandered over and stood over her, causing Alexia to immediately look up. The look of pain in her friend's eyes made Rei turn away again and bite her lip harder.

"Rei…why?" Alexia whispered. The dark-haired psychic sat down next to her and Alexia threw her arms around her and wept into her shoulder.

"He's bad Alexia. He hurt you terribly," Rei whispered soothingly. "You have to understand."

"Yes, but that was centuries ago," the miserable girl exclaimed. "How do you even know…that's if he _is_ this Caliban guy…that he's still with Lucilius? He might have returned to mend everything." Amy shook her head, her blue eyes grave.

"Think about it, Alexia. When Matthias appeared so did the monsters."

"But Nerissa…"

"We think they're working together."

"No!" Alexia once again broke down. Estrella stood up.

"Look, I think we should give her some time alone." she suggested. Rei nodded.

"Come on back to the temple, let Alexia have some time to think." the girls stood up.

"We'll see you later, okay?" Lita said gently.

"Get some rest." Amy advised. Alexia nodded.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I've not been very kind to you all…"

"Hey, it's ok, we understand." Serena said gently. Alexia smiled, stood up, and went around the room giving everyone a hug.

"I love you all," she said. "I know you're only concerned for my welfare and I can assure you I'll be careful, but I can't just stop seeing him." the girls nodded.

"You told us how long you've waited to get a lead in a recital, we're not expecting you to give that up." Mina told her.

"Just try not to see Matthias unless it's _really_ necessary, and make sure there's always someone with you." Luna added. "If it really is Caliban then he won't stay in hiding for much longer, anyway."

"Bye, Alexia." Rei said, giving her friend's hand a final squeeze before she walked out of the room.

"I'll come round later, alright?" Mina whispered as she hugged her friend again.

"See you later, guys." Alexia whispered as Amy closed the door. The green-haired girl wandered around the room for a second before flinging herself onto her bed, feeling numb. They had decided to tell her almost everything. The only thing they had chosen to leave out was the fact that she had tried to kill herself, deciding that perhaps it would push the distraught girl over the edge. She lay completely still, staring towards the window, her cheeks still wet.

She let out a loud sigh.

There was something they'd said, which had made Alexia understand something that no one had ever been able to explain. Ever since she could remember she'd had a completely irrational fear of swords. Knives, she could cope with, but even a picture of a long, shining sword was enough to make her head swim and her legs go weak. Her worst experience, as she recalled, had been at the age of six. Her parents had taken her to a 'Knights and Princesses' charity event. She had strangely felt right at home being surrounded by ladies in pretty dresses, however, as soon as she'd seen the men dressed as knights and brandishing broadswords she became hysterical. Miaka and Alfredo had been unsure as to what exactly had been the matter with their daughter as she'd hid behind them, sobbing loudly, begging to be taken home. The understanding had come just a little later, when a friendly knight had come over and had very innocently given Alexia the chance to see how heavy his sword was. Such had been the distress of the girl as he'd offered her the hilt that she passed out. Later, after a talk with her parents and a doctor, she managed to explain her phobia, and so Miaka and Alfredo promised never to let her see a sword again…

She closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly. She couldn't admit to the others about her fear - it would only make the whole thing more real to her.

x x x x x

"Hello? Hello, is anyone out there?" Alexia called out into the all-too familiar darkness.

"Charon!" the voice responded to her call. "I told you I would return!"

"But…who _are_ you?" the girl asked, flinging her arms out. The familiar quality of the voice was irritating. It wasn't familiar because she'd heard it so many times in her dreams, but because she was absolutely certain she had heard it in real life – and recently too. Suddenly a slit of light appeared in the distance, like a doorway opening, and a shadowy figure appeared.

"You know who I am, don't be so blind!" the voice hissed and suddenly realisation hit the girl like a tonne of bricks.

"No…" she gasped in horror. "Matthias?" She couldn't even begin to understand it – how could a person who she had only just met be the same youth who had been haunting her dreams for months before? "Is it really you? Please, let me see you, come closer!" She looked down and noticed she was in the beautiful lilac dress and pink sash she always found herself in during the nightmare.

"I can't." the figure stepped back from the light, hiding from view once more.

"No, come back, please!" Alexia begged, running towards the light. Although things were occurring slightly differently the girl had a sickening feeling that it would end as her usual re-occurring nightmare always did.

Her intuition was not mistaken.

The green-haired girl felt her lungs empty as her lower torso collided with something that was doubtlessly sharp and solid.

"Don't try to fight destiny, Princess!" the voice hissed coldly in her ear as her breathing became shallow. She looked down to see her blood-soaked hands and the long gash across her stomach - the same wound she always received.

"Why?" she whispered, falling to the ground as the pain became too much.

"Fate." the voice replied, and suddenly the silhouette re-appeared in the widening light. Alexia could now see Matthias's eyes, and she shuddered at how cold and cruel they looked. Her head began to spin and her vision blurred as he came closer, an uncaring look on his face as he laughed heartlessly at her.

"No…" she said faintly, as she passed out…

Alexia's blue eyes flew open as she woke up in a cold sweat. She was shaking all over and tears rolled down her cheeks as she hugged herself tightly, continuing to feel the intense pain in her stomach.

Rocking back and forth, gasping for air, she suddenly realised that the burning sensation was in the area of her birthmark. She lifted her top and gasped as she saw how the usually white line was now a deep red colour. She quickly put two and two together and didn't like the results – what she'd always believed to be a birthmark was actually a scar! A remnant of her past life on the Moon! And what was even worse was the fact that Matthias…or was it Caliban…had caused it! Her eyes darted around the room as she sensed something unusual, and they fell on the Plutonian Sphere, which was glowing faintly from its place on her shelf. Shakily she stood up and walked towards it, her hands held out. As she got closer she could feel warmth emanating from it and as she picked it up she suddenly felt calmer.

"Sailor Pluto, my Plutonian Sister, aid me now." she whispered, and the Sphere began to glow more fiercely. She sat back down on her bed as the Sphere floated out of her hands and Sailor Pluto's face appeared.

"Hello, Charon." she said. "I have been expecting you to contact me."

"You have?" Alexia inquired. Pluto nodded.

"Do not forget, Charon, I know the past, present and future."

"Then tell me - what is my fate?" Alexia pleaded, her calmness turning back to anxiety once again. "Is the dream I've been having a warning from my past? Are the others right, is Caliban trying to kill me?" Pluto shook her head.

"I cannot say what is to be, I cannot change, or allow you to change, the future."

"Can't you tell me _anything_?" the younger Plutonian implored.

"All that I can tell is to trust your instincts, because this part of your destiny is already set." the wise Guardian of Time answered. "Now I must go, farewell Charon, until we meet again." the Sphere dropped onto Alexia's lap as Pluto's face vanished.

"Goodbye, my Plutonian Sister." Alexia murmured, placing the Plutonian Sphere back on the shelf. She sat down in front of her mirror and looked herself in the eye. "Trust your instincts…" she told herself, and almost immediately she knew what she had to do. She stood back up and ran downstairs to the phone. "I'm making a phone call, mom." she shouted to her mother as she dialled a number, waited, then spoke again. "Hello, is that you, Matthias…?"

x x x x x

Meanwhile, the Scouts were sat around at the temple talking about their friend.

"I just feel so sorry for her, she was so happy." Mina murmured.

"It was just like back on the Moon Kingdom." Estrella sighed.

"I know what you mean." both Luna and Artemis agreed. Rei was sat with Amy and Serena inside, the black-haired girl was using her psychic powers to read the fire when suddenly her eyes fluttered open.

"Alexia…" she murmured. "I sense she's in danger…" she looked into the flames. "She's going somewhere - Caliban!" she yelled and ran outside to where Mina, Lita and the cats were sitting. "Alexia's gone to see Matthias!" she exclaimed.

"Oh no!" Mina exclaimed. "We have to stop her!" suddenly there was a laugh.

"Not so fast, girls." The Scouts all narrowed their eyes as their orange-haired adversary made her presence known.

"Nerissa," Lita muttered. "What's _she_ doing here?"

"Don't blow your cover guys." Artemis ordered quietly. "Remember, she doesn't know you're the Sailor Scouts."

"Ahhh, on the contrary." Nerissa smiled as she walked closer to them. "I _do_ know who you are, why else would I be here?" she stepped aside to reveal another alien, who was dressed in tiger-striped clothes. "So, why don't you transform and make friends with Tyger here?" the girls gasped and looked at one another in amazement.

"How do you know…?" Serena exclaimed.

"Ahhh that would be telling." Nerissa teased, tapping the side of her nose with her finger. "Now come on; don't keep me waiting…"

"Alexia? Alexia are you there?" Estrella's voice piped up on Alexia's communicator. However it was of no use, as it was on the bedside cabinet of the girl's empty bedroom…

x x x x x

"Thank you for meeting me." Alexia smiled. She and Matthias were sat in the same place they had sat on their first date.

"It's okay, you sounded a bit upset on the phone, is everything alright?" he asked her, taking her hand in his.

"Ye…yes I'm fine, really." she stammered. He looked at her with concern in his grey eyes.

"Are you _sure_ Alexia? You seem a little nervous." she nodded her head. She looked into his curious eyes and a shiver went down her spine as she recalled her earlier nightmare. _He __can't__ be Caliban, he __can't__ be evil_. She thought to herself. _What the others said just affected my imagination, that's all. That's why he was in my dream._

"Thank you for being so concerned, Caliban." she said gratefully, albeit distantly. Matthias's eyes immediately widened with shock as he noticed her mistake.

"What…what did you just call me?" he murmured, pulling his hand away from hers.

"Whatever do you mean?" Alexia looked confused.

"You called me Caliban." He said shakily, not knowing how to react. The girl's eyes widened as she realised what she had done, and then started to worry about the consequences…

x x x x x

"Where _is_ she?" Sailor Mars yelled as she attacked Tyger for a third time.

"I don't know; she isn't answering her communicator!" Estrella called back, feeling very worried about Alexia. Tyger leapt forward and hit Mars with a flying kick, knocking the girl to the ground. Jupiter moved in and began to throw punches left, right and centre - all of which where blocked expertly by the alien.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mercury called and froze Tyger's arms.

"Thanks Mercury." Jupiter called breathlessly but gratefully. "Jupiter Thunder!" as the ice cracked the Scout's attack hit the alien.

"Moon Sceptre Activation!" Sailor Moon's final move was enough to finally destroy the alien.

"Good job Scouts." Luna commended as Nerissa floated down, applauding loudly.

"Very well done." she said, smiling.

"What do you want now?" Rei demanded.

"I wanted to show you something…something that may surprise you cats." she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small silver ball.

"How?" Luna inquired, eyeing the ball suspiciously.

"Like this." She pressed a button on top of the silver object and it opened like a locket. She lifted a purple crystal out of it held it above her head.

"Reimo Power - Transform!" there was a flash of light, and Luna, Artemis and Estrella gasped.

"What the…?" Jupiter murmured, hardly believing what she was seeing.

Nerissa had transformed.

Around her forehead was a dark blue band. She was wearing a skin-tight, low cut, white cat suit with blue and red straps which formed a cross across her stomach and her hands were clad in short white, red and blue gloves. Completing her outfit were a pair of red and blue high-heeled ankle boots. In her hand was a slender silver staff, the purple jewel she'd used to transform was in a clear sphere on the end.

"I can't believe it!" Artemis exclaimed, not sure whether to be relieved or scared. "Nerissa is…"

"Reimo Guardian!" Estrella concluded, staring at the woman in awe.

"That's right!" Nerissa winked and expertly swung her staff around in her hand.

"Reimo Guardian?!" Mars inquired. "What's that mean?" Luna cleared her throat nervously.

"In the Lensei galaxy there are a group of female warriors like you Sailor Scouts. They call themselves the Planet Guardians. There are 8 of them altogether, one for each planet of the galaxy. Unlike you Scouts they only protect their own planet unless there is a threat to the entire galaxy or the universe. Also unlike you their identities are not secret, and they are not princesses. They are specially chosen and trained from a young age, usually continuing a family line."

"Like me," Nerissa cut in. "My mother was the Reimo Guardian who was with Florizel on the Moon, you may recall her, her name was Adia."

"Yes, we remember." Luna muttered, her eyes narrow. "So why reveal this to us? Do you want to fight the Scouts at full power?"

"Ahhh…on the contrary - I think it's about time we told you why we are here." a male voice announced, as a figure emerged behind Nerissa.

"Florizel!" the cats exclaimed…

x x x x x

"You mean, you _know_ who I am?" Matthias was pacing up and down, pushing his hair back from his face with his hands.

"So, you _are_ Caliban." Alexia said quietly, looking at her hands, which were tightly clasped in her lap. The youth nodded, and transformed into his normal regal clothes. "So, why are you here?" she inquired, finally focusing her gaze on her companion.

"I am looking for an old…friend." he explained quietly as he came to sit down next to her. He was trying desperately to force himself to deny the truth – she must be a Sailor Scout, or at least in league with them in some way. How else could she know who he truly was?

"Friend?" she repeated, her head tilted to one side.

"Alright, more than a friend." he confessed. "I'm searching for a girl. I know she's here in Tokyo somewhere…she's very important to me." He paused. "I loved – no, I _love_ – her. Her name is Charon."

Alexia didn't know how to react. Her heart had skipped a beat as soon as he'd said her alter-ego's name, however her dream and what the other Scouts had said still stuck in her mind:

"_He's bad Alexia. He hurt you terribly…"_

_That was thousands of years ago._ She told herself firmly. She still couldn't believe that the handsome, nervous youth in front of her was in any way evil. She snapped back to attention as Caliban continued to speak:

"Please, since you know who I am you must be in some way involved with the Scouts. As you know without a doubt Charon is a Sailor Scout herself – so please, tell me, do you know where I can find her? I need to tell her how sorry I am, I have to explain why I left her all those years ago…" Alexia saw the pain and guilt in his eyes as he said this and knew he was being honest, and it was then that she realised she had been right when she'd suggested to the others that he might have come to make amends.

She knew she couldn't keep the truth from him any longer.

Caliban watched Alexia's joyful face as she jumped to her feet and took hold of his hands.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." She whispered, her pale blue eyes sparkling. The prince's eyes lit up and his mouth curled up into a grin.

"I knew it! Please Alexia, where is she? I cannot wait another moment to see her!" The girl's smile broadened as she quickly looked around to check the coast was clear and then reached into her pocket for her transformation pen:

"You don't _have_ to wait another moment, Caliban," she promised him, holding the pen up high above her head. "Charon Moon Power - Make Up!"

Caliban's grey eyes shone with astonishment in the lilac aura of Alexia's transformation. The Sailor Scout of Charon stood in front of him, her delicate face radiant. "You can stop looking, Caliban." she said lovingly.

"You…You…" the prince was flabbergasted. "You have been right in front of me all this time! I cannot believe it!" he placed his hands on her waist and looked her deeply in the eyes. "My Princess, I am so sorry for all the pain I caused you in the past…I know you cannot remember but _I_ can, and it hurts me so much when I think about it. I want to tell you everything that has happened since I abandoned you-" Sailor Charon placed a finger on his lips so she could speak. It was strange to be asked forgiveness for something she could only remember from her dreams but deep inside her heart she felt as if a hole was being filled.

"I forgive you," she told him gently. "And I would very much like to hear what happened to you. Luna, Artemis and Estrella have told me what they know, so to hear it from your perspective would be good." Caliban ran his fingertips down her soft cheek and along her jaw line to her chin as she spoke, making her skin tingle slightly.

"I can hardly believe that you're really standing here." He whispered, Lucilius's plans nothing but a distant memory. Charon felt like she and Caliban were the only two people in the world, and that nothing could ruin this moment for her. _I don't care what the others say…I love him. _She thought firmly. _And I swear I won't let them come between us._ They stood for what seemed like an eternity, just gazing into each others' eyes, before he leant forward and gently brushed his lips against hers.

"Caliban…" Charon whispered, feeling slightly light-headed and a little nervous as his hands slipped round to the small of her back, pulling her closer to him.

"My Princess." Caliban replied, only an inch between their faces. The gap was then closed as their lips met once again for a deep and passionate kiss.


	8. Destiny is not Ours

7 - Destiny is not Ours.

Serena, Mina, Rei, Amy and Lita were sat around feeling slightly confused. Luna, Artemis and Estrella were talking to Florizel and Nerissa in private and they were waiting rather impatiently for them to come back.

"I wonder who they are?" Amy pondered.

"It's just so weird - one moment Nerissa's the enemy and now this Florizel guy shows up and she's a friend!" Lita exclaimed in disbelief.

"I just wish they'd hurry up," Rei muttered. "I wanna know what they want with us!" as she finished speaking her wish was granted as the group appeared through the door. Luna leapt onto Serena's lap.

"What's going on?" Mina inquired.

"We'll let Florizel explain." Estrella said as she positioned herself next to Rei.

"Yes, what Florizel has to say will tell you a little more about Caliban." Luna added. The man stood in the middle of the floor in front of his audience, Nerissa sat behind him.

"First of all, let me introduce myself and my colleague here properly." he began, "I am Florizel, commander of the army of Reimo and loyal friend and adviser to Emperor Caius, ruler of the planet Reimo and father of Prince Caliban. This is Nerissa, she is General of the army and as you know Reimo Guardian…"

"Yes we know that…so are you gonna tell us why you're here?" Lita asked.

"Yes of course." The man sat down. "The cats have informed me of what you know already, and so if you have any questions then I will try to answer them as best I can."

"I have one," Rei spoke up. "Why did Lucilius try to get Caliban to kill you?"

"And why did he take Caliban anyway?" Mina inquired straight after.

"Lucilius and I do not…get along," Florizel explained. "You see, Lucilius is actually from our planet, and it was I who caused him to be banished forever by Caius after I proved that Lucilius was trying to overthrow him. As for the answer to your question, Venus, the reason he took Caliban was to get back not only at Charon, for he had heard about their forthcoming marriage, but also Caius."

"Oh, I see." Rei nodded understandingly. Luna looked at the Royal Adviser thoughtfully for a moment, and then spoke up.

"Something has been bothering me all these years, Florizel," she remarked. "When Caliban made his re-appearance on the Moon…he called Lucilius 'uncle'…" Florizel's dark eyes flashed as he glared at her.

"That was nothing but foul trickery! Lucilius is in no way related to the Royal Family." he stated rather harshly. Amy was the next with a question:

"So, why are you here now? Have you come to capture them?" Florizel's eyes and tone softened as the subject was changed.

"Well, yes. You see, it was only very recently that we managed to locate Prince Caliban and Lucilius. Nerissa and I immediately devised a plan to return the prince home and informed Caius. He at the time was seriously ill, caused by his worry that he would die without his beloved son there to take his place on the throne, and thought our plan was very risky, but still gave us his blessings. And so myself and Nerissa travelled here to Earth, hoping a tale we had heard was true. The rumour was that a band of warriors called the Sailor Scouts had appeared on Earth, and that they had sworn to defend the Earth and galaxy from anyone who dared to attack; and that these girls had powers like those of the princesses of the Silver Millennium. There is also an old fable that said at the end of the great war between the Dark and Moon Kingdoms Queen Serenity sent the princesses, Prince Darien and her advisers to the future Earth. Thus we decided to find out if there was a link between the Sailor Scouts and this fable. We hunted high and low, until we arrived here in Tokyo and found what we were looking for - you girls. You may remember a series of attacks a few months ago - that was us testing your skills."

"That was _you_? So that explains it." Luna remarked.

"What we weren't expecting were two things - the first being Sailor Moon, who we now know is none other than the Moon Princess Serena, thanks to Luna; and the second was of course the appearance of Sailor Charon - I can tell you we were as shocked as all of you on that first night she arrived to help. Fortunately the latter was perfect, knowing Charon was alive and well gave us a great chance of winning Caliban back. Although his attack on her was cold-hearted we believed that he'd had his memories blocked somehow and that somewhere deep inside he still loved her. The final piece was when Pluto gave her the Plutonian Sphere - it was the perfect bait to tempt Lucilius."

"Why didn't you just tell him about the Imperium Silver Crystal? Surely he would've been more tempted by that?" Serena inquired.

"What, and put the fate of the universe in total peril?" Nerissa exclaimed.

"Ah, good point." Serena said sheepishly.

"Anyway, the next part of the plan was simple - since Lucilius never would have trusted me Nerissa paid him a visit, pretending to be an admirer of his past 'work' and wanting to help him become as feared as he was before Serenity's punishment."

"I told him of our findings," Nerissa continued. "And, as a token of my 'loyalty' I presented him with a gift. I gave him some Aathean Bottles - special containers which hold some of the Reimoan Army's finest warriors - which I claimed to have stolen from Florizel. These and the mentioning of the Plutonian Sphere were enough to capture his full attention and convince him I was genuine, so I was invited to join him." She fell silent and looked over to her partner, who began to speak again.

"Just as we had hoped Lucilius decided to return to this galaxy again to get his final revenge." he smiled, feeling pleased about how everything was falling into place. "Also, we think that because Caliban is once again spending time with Charon, although he doesn't realise it, his old feelings are slowly being reawakened and Lucilius's control is slowly wearing off. The Aathean Bottles that Nerissa gave to Lucilius only contain the weaker of our warriors, that is why they haven't been too difficult for you to get rid of." he stopped talking.

"Wait a minute!" Estrella exclaimed. "You just said that Caliban doesn't realise he's spending time with Charon, you mean that…?"

"It's a complete coincidence; I guess it just shows it's fate for them to be together." Nerissa commented. "The heart and soul never forget true love, I guess. Where _is_ Alexia, anyway?" Suddenly Lita jumped up from her seat.

"I _knew _we were forgetting something! We got distracted and she's with Caliban!" the other Scouts also leapt up, Serena knocking Luna flying in her haste.

"Rei, do you still have any bad vibes?" Mina asked.

"No, she seems to be safe, I think she may be at home." the dark-haired psychic replied.

"Well, there's only one way to find out - let's go to Alexia's house." Luna announced.

"Right!"

x x x x x

The sun was setting, and Alexia, who had changed back from her Scout alter-ego, was resting her head on Caliban's shoulder. A radiant smile played on her lips as she snuggled closer to him, never taking her eyes off him. He was looking out at the spectacular view, one arm resting around Alexia's shoulders and the other holding her hand. He turned his head slightly and looked fondly at the girl, who sighed contentedly. _I never want this to end_, she thought to herself, _and the awful thing is that I don't feel a bit guilty about what I'm doing_. She ran a finger down his cheek as her mind wandered back to the kiss they had shared just a little while ago. _My first kiss…_she thought to herself,_ well my first kiss in this life…and it was wonderful! _There was something else on her mind which had been nagging her since Caliban had admitted the truth about his identity. She felt sure she was missing someone important, someone who was close to Matthias…

"_Think about it, Alexia. When Matthias appeared so did the monsters."_

"_But Nerissa…"_

"_We think they're working together."_

It suddenly clicked into place.

"Crystal!" she exclaimed, pulling her head from the prince's shoulder and staring at him, wide-eyed. "She's Nerissa, isn't she?!" Caliban nodded; she sat back, looking out over the park. "So you _are_ working together…" she murmured.

"Yes…well, we _were_; I have no intention of handing you over to Lucilius now." he told her.

"So, what _are_ your intentions?" she inquired, her face serious.

"I want to sort out the messes I've made over the years; I want people to be able to trust me again, like your fellow Scouts; I want to go home and ask for my father's forgiveness…" he paused, realising something that hadn't even crossed his mind. "That is if he is even still alive…" His heart sank - why hadn't he thought of that before now?

"I'm sure he will be, and I'm sure he's worried sick about you and wants you back." Alexia reassured him, not really sure if she believed herself but hoping that her words would be enough to comfort the forlorn youth. "I have an idea about how you can get the other Scouts to trust you though. I'll arrange for us - that is, me and the others, to have a picnic right here. Then you can come and we'll tell them everything together." she explained. "They'll see straight away that you're not the evil person they think you are - they'll _have_ to believe us."

"And if they don't?" Caliban questioned.

"If they don't then they aren't the friends I thought they were." The Charonian responded simply.

Caliban looked at her, sudden realisation dawning on him - what was he doing?! He was sat here, in an open space, talking about how he wanted to make up with the Sailor Scouts and his father! For all he knew Lucilius could have been spying on them!

He leapt to his feet, startling Alexia as he turned this way and that, looking for anyone who might be hiding in the area.

"What's wrong?" the dark-haired girl asked nervously, also looking around although she didn't know why.

"We can't do this, Alexia!" he exclaimed, his eyes full of panic. "It's too dangerous! Lucilius could be watching us for all we know!"

"Calm down," she took hold of his arm, even though she knew he could be right. "It's okay."

"No, it isn't!" he pulled away from her sharply. "You need to go - now!"

"I don't care about Lucilius!" she told him, her blue eyes bright in the light of the setting sun. "I need to be with you, Caliban, nothing else matters to me!" He sighed and turned his back on her.

"Go, I do not want to see you again." he ordered as he felt Alexia rest her head between his shoulder blades, her arms around his middle.

"Okay," she whispered, feeling his heart pounding. "But please, please promise me you'll think about meeting us tomorrow? We'll be here at one o'clock."

"Very well, I promise." he muttered, once again pulling away from her. "Now, leave."

He couldn't bring himself to look at her, the fact that he was pushing her away was tearing him apart.

"I promise you, everything will turn out right." was the last thing Alexia said to him, before she turned and ran away.

Caliban dropped back down onto the seat and buried his face in his hands.

"It's for the best, for the best." he told himself over and over. But he couldn't convince himself - he knew that it was going to take a great effort to avoid seeing her and he felt awful about the false promise he'd just made to her. There was no way he could show up at the picnic…the Scouts would never trust him.

x x x x x

The Sailor Scouts waited anxiously outside the Risolto house as Estrella went through the kitchen window.

"I hope Alexia's alright…" Mina murmured as she sat on the wall. Their heads suddenly turned as the front door opened and Alexia stepped out.

"Hey guys, what's up? Estrella said you were worried about me." she said as she walked over to them.

"I had a vision - that you went to see Caliban." Rei informed her; Alexia somehow managed to force a realistic laugh.

"Don't be silly, I've been here ever since you guys left!" she replied, placing a reassuring hand on the black-haired Scout's shoulder. "Rei, you really do worry too much sometimes!" Her friends relaxed. "I'd invite you all in only I have to finish some homework and then I'm gonna go to bed cos I have a rehearsal early tomorrow morning. Oh, it's a good job you came round actually, I wanted to ask if you'd like to go for a picnic tomorrow, at about one o'clock? I thought maybe we could meet here at twelve, prepare some food and then walk to the park together."

"That sounds like fun!" Mina beamed. "Right, guys?" the others nodded in agreement.

"Brilliant, I think we need some chilling out time." Alexia grinned, pleased that her plan was now set in motion. _Caliban __will__ come, I just know he will!_ She thought to herself. "Anyway, I'll let you guys get home, not that Mina has far to walk!" They laughed.

"'Bye, Alexia, good luck at rehearsal!" Serena called to her as she walked back up the driveway.

"See you at twelve!" Rei added as Alexia waved from the door before closing it.

"Hey, do you guys wanna come in for some tea?" Mina asked as the group walked to her house.

"Sure, why not?" Amy smiled.

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Lita remarked, and then noticed the rather smug look on the blonde's face. "What's up with you?"

"Mina's got a plan!" The Venusian announced, removing her door key from her pocket with a flourish.

"Is it a good one?" Serena inquired, and Mina winked.

"Aren't they always?"


	9. On that Tragic Evening

8 - On That Tragic Evening…

"Good morning miss, may I take your order?" the young woman smiled as she opened her notepad.

"I'll have a fruit juice and a Caesar salad, easy on the dressing." Merula snapped her menu shut and handed it to the girl. The waitress noted the order, and then looked at her purple-haired customer again; this time more curiously.

"You have a really unusual accent, do you mind me asking where you're from?" Merula's dark eyes shone brilliantly as she responded:

"Sure, I'm from Japan." She flashed a toothy smile at the waitress. "Do _you_ mind _me_ saying that I think your accent is really cute?" the waitress looked down at her notepad again as she blushed.

"Thank you." She replied. "So, do you live around here? Your English is really good."

"Oh no, I live in Japan," Merula shook her head quickly. "It's my first time in England actually. I learnt English at school."

"Wow…you must've had great teachers! I did French at school and I think the only phrase I can say is 'je m'appelle Alice'!" the girl laughed.

"Bonjour, Alice. Je m'appelle Merula." The purple-haired girl stuck out her hand and Alice took it.

"Wow, you speak French too!" the waitress remarked, clearly impressed. The truth was she'd always had a knack for learning languages; her past journeys through the universe back in her huntress days had helped with that.

"Alice! Table six has been waiting for over five minutes now!" a voice called over.

"Oops, sorry!" Alice blushed. "Your order will be ready soon, it was nice to meet you, Merula, and I hope you have a wonderful time here in England!" She rushed off and Merula smiled.

"I'm sure I will." She murmured, and then gave a melancholy sigh as she looked out of the window. This long vacation she'd been taking had been getting more and more difficult to enjoy since the alien feelings she'd been getting had started. She looked down at her watch – it would be about 1am in Tokyo. She suddenly closed her eyes and shuddered as she heard the sound of a girl sobbing in her mind. The memory was coming back again…

x x x x x

…"It's my birthday, it's my birthday!" Princess Venus exclaimed delightedly as she spun around on her foot in the middle of the ballroom, her skirt and long, blonde hair fluttering around her as she went. "And everyone is here, Universe!" Princess Universe couldn't help but grin as the energetic birthday girl grabbed her by the shoulders and started pointing people out. "Look! There's Queen Serenity, Luna and Artemis with my mother – isn't she lovely? And there's Mars and Jupiter talking to the Reimo Guardian, and Mercury is with Lord Florizel!" her blue eyes flicked quickly around the room, hunting down more familiar faces. "Oh there's Estrella dancing with Serena and there's…oh." The princess's face fell suddenly. "There's Charon, all alone."

The Outer Moon Princess was sat in a shadowy corner with only her thoughts for company. She was biting her lower lip as if she were trying to stop herself from crying and her pale eyes shone with the misery that had been so familiar recently. Venus and Universe sighed in perfect unison as they regarded her with sombre expressions. "She cannot be sad, not on my birthday!" the blonde exclaimed. "Come, let's cheer her up."

"I doubt that we'll be able to do that, but I guess there's no harm in trying." Universe remarked, and with that the pair marched over to the depressed princess.

Universe knew that Charon didn't want to be at this party, she wanted to be in her room crying. However she didn't want to disappoint her friend on her special day and so had (somewhat reluctantly) agreed to attend.

"Hello Charon," Venus said gently as she sat next to Charon. "Why don't you come and dance?" Charon merely sighed and looked away.

"I know you are trying to cheer me up Venus, and I do appreciate your efforts, really, but I would prefer to be left alone." The green-haired princess told her, unable to look at her.

"Oh but Charon, it's my birthday!" the blonde exclaimed, disappointed at her friend's lack of enthusiasm. "You have plenty of time to be sad _after_ tonight!" Universe cringed at Venus's tactlessness.

"Now Venus you're being selfish," She scolded the clearly over-excited princess. "But she's right Charon – not about her last comment, that was obviously Venus speaking before she thought about what she was saying – but you shouldn't be so sad. Come and have some fun with your friends!" she grabbed Charon's hands and tried to make her stand up, however the princess resisted strongly. Finally Charon _did_ stand up, by herself, and pulled her hands away.

"I am sorry," She murmured, her pale eyes apologetic. "I just cannot face all of these people – I cannot pretend to be happy when…" she took a shaky breath and Universe noticed how the girl's bottom lip trembled. "…When I am so miserable!" a tear escaped from her right eye and slipped down her cheek. "I cannot stay here a moment longer. If anyone wishes to know where I am I will be in my garden and wish not to be disturbed by anyone." She turned away from her two friends and sighed. "I am sorry Venus, I have spoilt your special evening." With that she walked towards the large glass doors, which led to the palace grounds.

"Oh, Charon." Venus sighed. Universe put an arm around her shoulders.

"She just needs time." She advised, and the blonde princess nodded.

"I know, but it's been a month since Caliban disappeared…" Universe led her back to the edge of the dance floor.

"Do you really think that that's enough time for her to get over her fiancé?" she inquired.

"I guess not." Venus sighed again as Universe looked around the large room for something to take Venus's mind off what had just happened.

"Hey look, your mother's waving at us. Why don't you introduce me to her?" Venus's downcast blue eyes lit up again.

"Of course! I just _know_ you are going to get along!" the birthday-girl grabbed her companion's hands and walked across the dance floor. "Mother!" she called out, and Universe couldn't help but chuckle at her friend's renewed eagerness. She knew that inside the blonde was still hurting over Charon's coldness but she was determined not to let it affect her birthday. "Mother dear! Oh, excuse me, Queen Serenity," the blonde curtsied quickly as she realised she'd interrupted what Serenity had been saying to the Queen of Venus. "I did not mean to be rude, but I would like to introduce Universe to my mother!" Serenity smiled and put her hands on Venus's shoulders.

"Well, it _is_ your birthday, my dear. I expect you are very excited and so I forgive your interruption."

"My dear daughter is _always_ excited." The Queen of Venus smiled, looking fondly at her daughter. "And always interrupts things, although never rudely. Why, even on the day she was born, she decided it would be best to enter the world in the middle of an important meeting." The two queens laughed gaily, and as they did neither they nor anyone else in the room noticed someone open the ballroom doors; someone who would, without a doubt, be a bigger interruption than Princess Venus could ever be in her life.

It was Princess Universe who first sensed the cold tension, which suddenly seemed to fill the room as the queens started to exchange tales of the births of their children. The purple-haired girl looked around the room when suddenly her eyes fell on the open entrance to the ballroom.

"What is wrong, Universe?" Venus exclaimed, noticing how she was staring behind her. Universe found that her throat was suddenly so dry that she couldn't speak, and so she pointed to indicate what she was looking at. Confused, the blonde princess turned her head, then gasped.

"Caliban!" she screamed joyfully, clapping her hands together.

Smash…

Venus's exclamation caused Florizel, who was stood nearby with Princess Mercury, to drop his glass. He turned to stare at the blonde, just as everyone else (excluding Universe) had at her cry.

"Whatever do you mean, your Highness?" the chief adviser of Emperor Caius of Reimo demanded.

"I mean Caliban is here! Look, there!" she pointed to where the blonde prince was stood, his arms crossed over his chest and a rather stern look on his face.

"By the Stars of the Galaxy, it _is_ him!" Xizor exclaimed.

"Prince Caliban, you have returned!" Serenity said joyfully.

"Charon, someone needs to inform her! Wherever is she?" Luna exclaimed.

"I know! Oh, this is the best birthday ever!" Venus dashed off through the same doors Charon had used just a few minutes before.

"Wait for me! Oh I just cannot wait to see her face!" Estrella exclaimed, following the princess quickly. The general reaction in the ballroom was a mixture of joy and disbelief, however Universe was feeling suspicious – there was something definitely amiss here…Caliban's serious face suddenly broke into a smile as he held out his arms and walked further into the room.

"Yes, it is true – I have returned." He announced. "I am sorry if I have caused you any worry…"

"Worry?! Of course we worried!" Florizel said severely. "Your mother has made herself sick with anxiety for your welfare! Explain yourself at once!" The man folded his arms across his chest, as Caliban looked to the floor in what the majority of the assembled group thought was shame.

"So, uncle was right…you _are_ here." He murmured, and then snapped his head back up to point his finger directly at his father's advisor. "And why should I explain myself to a traitor like you?"

Everyone in the room gasped in horror. Universe, who had just been wondering who Caliban's 'uncle' was, fixed her dark eyes on his and as she did she shuddered. His grey eyes were ablaze with hatred and anger as he glared at Florizel.

"What reason do you have to call me that?" Florizel questioned, and the youth simply laughed scornfully.

"What reason you ask? What reason?" he sneered. "I have _every_ reason!"

"I think you should elaborate on your accusation, Caliban." Queen Serenity remarked, her voice steady. By now most of the crowd had noticed the strange glint in Caliban's eyes and were edging nervously to the edges of the room. The princesses, however, stood close to Queen Serenity, as did Captain Blackabar and the Royal Guards who were in attendance.

"This is _not_ an accusation." The prince hissed, locking her eyes on the queen, which caused her daughter to move closer in a protective manner. "This is the cold, hard _truth_!" He switched his gaze back to Florizel, his grey eyes shining almost wildly. The advisor's companion for the evening, Adia, known to most as the current Reimo Guardian, stood slightly forward of her commander, her silver staff poised in case the clearly disturbed prince should attack. "This man here – if you can call him that-" Caliban continued, his hand indicated the accused man. "Is planning to overthrow the very man who trusts him so much that he would freely divulge all the State secrets of Reimo to him. That man is, of course, my beloved father, Emperor Caius." The crowd gasped in horror at the prince's revelation.

"That is preposterous!" Florizel yelled over the loud uttering of the crowd. "Who has filled your head with such nonsense?!"

"Caliban, I fear you are mistaken." Serenity said in a calm, dulcet tone. "Florizel would never do such a thing."

"What do _you_ know?" Caliban spat as he drew his sword, and Universe narrowed her eyes at his insulting tone.

Suddenly a new voice called a halt to proceedings.

"Can this really be?" the soft voice exclaimed from behind the crowd. Universe felt like a rock had dropped into her stomach as she recognised it to be Charon's. They all turned to face the Outer Moon Princess, whose blue eyes were wide as she held onto Venus as if she were going to faint at any moment. "Is this a dream? Oh Venus, please tell me it isn't!" she stared at her friend hopefully, and the blonde beamed.

"No, it is no dream, Charon – he's really there!" Charon let out a gasp of joy and turned her head in order to gaze at her treasured fiancé, who was looking thoroughly annoyed at the interruption. However such was Charon's happiness that she was almost blind to reality. Universe didn't know how to react – she secretly hoped that the green-haired princess would be able to calm Caliban down, but a larger part of her had an awful feeling that many tears, and perhaps some blood (although she definitely didn't want this to be) would be shed before the end of the evening.

"Caliban? My love?" Charon continued, her hands now clasped together under her chin. "Oh, you will never be able to comprehend just how frightened I have been! However it all seems so distant now that I see you before me! Oh how I have hoped and prayed to the great spirits, which reside in the stars of Charon – I prayed they would find you and bring you back to me – and they have not failed me! We are together again at last." Tears glistened on her cheeks as she ran to him, her arms stretched out in preparation to embrace him…

And that was the moment Universe realised her worst thought was about to become reality.

Blood _would_ be shed that night.

"Charon – NO!" she yelled, trying to stop her in time; but it was no use. The princess of the Outer Moon's eyes widened in horror as she saw the smile on Caliban's face – a smile that could only be described as purely evil. Swiftly he moved his sword and before Charon could stop herself her lower torso connected with the sharp, silver blade.

Several of the women in the room screamed and collapsed at the sight of the horrific scene. The men could hardly watch, as the blade seemed to sink into Charon's stomach, spilling her blood instantly, in slow motion. The princesses stood around Serenity, with the exception of Universe, stared speechlessly for a second before Mercury threw herself into Universe's arms and Jupiter and Mars held onto one another. Queen Serenity had to place one hand on Blackabar's shoulder for support whilst wrapping the other arm around her daughter, who had buried her head in her mother's chest. Venus's mother managed shakily to run over to embrace her own daughter, who was still stood at the glass doors, trembling with a face as white as driven snow. Estrella, who was still stood next to Venus, let out a loud sob then turned and ran back out into the palace grounds. Princess Universe, who had her arms around the sobbing Mercury, just stood staring as Caliban and Charon seemed to be frozen in time. Blood slowly trickled down the front of Charon's lilac dress, forming a pool around their feet. As the prince withdrew his sword the wounded girl closed her eyes as the blood started to flow at a quicker rate.

"Why?" she managed to whisper, before finally collapsing.

"Now, where were we?" Caliban said coolly, and Universe snapped back to reality in a flash. She clenched her fists as Mercury continued to sob bitterly into her front and felt a wave of anger wash over her. How could he act as if nothing had happened?! Mars was now on the floor, cradling Charon's limp body in her arms, not caring about the blood. She wasn't crying, in fact she looked perfectly calm as she brushed some loose strands of hair out of her injured friend's face. "Ah yes, sentencing. Now as you are aware Florizel the punishment for treason on Reimo is death…"

"There shall be no more bloodshed here!" Serenity suddenly announced furiously, handing her daughter over to Blackabar as she pushed forward. "If you wish to continue with this madness then do it on your own planet!" Caliban pointed his sword at her, the blade still red with Princess Charon's blood.

"If you were wise, my Queen, you would keep that mouth of yours firmly shut." He sneered, and that brought Universe right to the edge of her temper. Gently she pulled away from Mercury and went to stand at the very tip of the prince's sword.

"That's the second time you've been rude to Queen Serenity – I won't stand for it anymore." She announced, her dark eyes flashing, and Caliban spoke disdainfully:

"Oh look uncle, it's the Warrior-Princess!" There it was again – the word 'uncle'. Universe noticed the concerned look on Florizel's face.

"Ahhh, so it is." A childish voice chuckled from the entrance. The princesses and Queen Serenity all looked at one another as they recognised the voice. They turned almost simultaneously to face the figure of…

"Lucilius!" a woman near the door exclaimed almost hysterically.

"Lucilius!" Universe bellowed angrily.

"We should have known…" Queen Serenity murmured sadly.

"You sick bastard! Look at what you've done!" Jupiter managed to snap, albeit rather shakily. Lucilius merely laughed at them.

"Poor little Charon," he sighed mockingly, looking to where Mars was still holding Charon on her lap. "Someone once told me that falling in love is one of the deadliest things in the universe – I guess they were correct." Caliban sniggered at this comment, and that was enough for the princesses.

"How _dare_ you set foot in my mother's Kingdom!" Princess Serena called out, her eyes burning with fury.

"You've brainwashed Caliban and turned him against us!" Mercury exclaimed through her tears. Suddenly Venus rushed forward, pushing her way past Blackabar to stand between Jupiter and Mercury.

"I HATE YOU!" she screamed, voicing the thought of the others. "You have forced Caliban to…" she couldn't bring herself to say the word 'kill' or 'murder'. "…Harm his true love and _our_ friend!" She closed her eyes for a moment to take a deep breath, and then glared viciously at Lucilius. "You are the lowest scum of the universe. I know of evil warlords with more scruples than you'll _ever_ have!" Despite the girls' impassioned outbursts Lucilius simply continued to laugh.

"I shall take that as a compliment, Venus…" he paused, then smiled hideously. "Oh, by the way, a happy birthday to you, Princess."

That pushed the blonde girl over the edge.

"Venus Crescent Beam!" she yelled, pointing her hands not at Lucilius but at Caliban's sword, sending it crashing to the floor.

"That's my girl." Universe heard Venus's mother remark proudly.

"I think it is time we punished these low-lives, mother." Princess Serena said wisely as she took her mother's hand.

"Never a truer word said." Serenity smiled at her daughter. "What do you think, girls?" the princesses all nodded and took each others' hands and Mars left Charon's side to join the circle. There was fear in Lucilius's eyes as an aura of light started to surround the circle.

"Caliban, it is time we left the party." He announced shakily.

"But uncle!" the prince started to protest.

"Do _not_ question me!" Lucilius snapped as he ran like a coward.

"We shall conclude this later." Caliban sneered at Florizel as he picked up his sword and hurriedly followed Lucilius. The Royal Guards, led by Blackabar, took chase whilst the princesses and Serenity stopped concentrating and immediately went to the seemingly lifeless body of Charon.

Carefully Universe placed her head to Charon's chest and listened. Her eyes widened in amazement as she heard it – the faint beating of Charon's heart.

"She's still alive!" she exclaimed loudly, and everyone gasped. "Barely though, we need to get her to a doctor."

"Mercury, please fetch the Royal Physician quickly." Serenity ordered the girl, who nodded and ran off quickly. The queen of the Moon then turned to Xizor, Luna and Artemis. "Will you please lead the guests into another room, please? I think they have had enough excitement for one evening."

"Certainly, Your Majesty." Xizor bowed and the cats nodded gravely before going to attend to their task. Soon the room was much emptier.

"I think I'm going to be sick…" Jupiter suddenly announced, and Universe noticed how drained her face was. Suddenly she dashed out of the room and out into the gardens, followed by a concerned Princess Serena. Mars watched in silence as Universe managed to tear a large piece of her skirt to use to hold over the wound to try and stem the bleeding.

"It's a miracle…she should be dead by now." The purple-haired girl murmured, then looked up at Mars curiously. "Do you by any chance have anything to do with this?" Mars's eyes were calm as she managed to speak up for the first time since the incident:

"Before she collapsed she communicated to me – she asked me to help her, and so since then all I've been able to do is tell her to concentrate on nothing but living." She took a shaky breath and Universe noticed for the first time that there were tears in her black eyes. "But now she's getting weaker by the second; I don't think she will be able to hold on for much longer!" she finally broke down, and Queen Serenity wrapped her arms around her.

"I must go and inform Emperor Caius…" Florizel spoke up, looking as if he'd just woken up from a terrible nightmare. Queen Serenity nodded in agreement.

"Yes, you must. Afterwards would you and Adia please join me in my private chamber? We should talk about this." She added gravely.

"Of course, your Highness." Florizel bowed deeply, then looked at Charon's limp body. "I am truly sorry for what has happened."

"It is not your fault, Florizel." Serenity murmured. "Now please, go." With that command the adviser and Adia left the ballroom, passing Princess Mercury as she rushed in with the Royal Physician.

"My goodness, it is more horrific than you described." He muttered, his face pale. Princess Universe got up and let the doctor do his job. She placed an arm around Mercury and looked at her with concern written all over her face.

"Are you alright?" she inquired, and Mercury waved her hand dismissively.

"I am fine – it is Charon you should be concerned about, not me." She remarked rather sharply, and then sighed. "Look at Venus." She whispered, and Universe realised she'd not thought of how the blonde princess must be coping. She walked over to where Venus was stood, staring at the huge tables that were covered in her birthday presents. Her mother was stood a little distance behind her, just letting her be.

"Venus?" Universe spoke up, cautiously placing a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"None of these presents mean anything to me." The blonde responded, her voice emotionless. "Even the beautiful blue parrot you gave me seems grey to my eyes." She turned to look at Universe, tears rolling down her cheeks freely. "She must live! I refuse to let her go!" She threw herself into the taller girl's arms. "I always said that if anything should happen to any of you…I should surely die as well." She managed to whisper, before closing her eyes, allowing her sobs to echo around the room…

x x x x x

…It was these sobs, the sobs of the broken Princess Venus, that haunted Merula's memories of that night most of all. Thankfully for them all Charon survived against all odds, but she was never the same afterwards. She shuddered and recalled the terrible months that had followed…she saw the smoking ashes of the destroyed Charonian Ice Blossoms; Charon's blank eyes; the bottle of poison that she held, poised at her lips…if they had arrived a moment later, she would have been dead. Merula tried to shake the thought of what life might have been like if that _had _happened and poked at her salad, which had arrived halfway through her reverie. She found herself wondering what Charon would be like now, if she had not died on that tragic final night of the Moon Kingdom. Would she have been a goody-two-shoes Scout, helping the Inner Scouts to save the world every other day? Merula smiled. Of course she would have. That was the kind of person Charon had been…she dropped her fork onto the table.

That was the kind of person _she_ had been, back then.


	10. Broken Trusts

9 - Broken Trusts.

As Merula had deduced it was early morning in Tokyo, and Caliban was still sat on the bench in the park. A cold breeze fanned his blonde locks over his eyes, which had a reflective look to them. He hadn't been able to take his mind off Alexia's plan since she'd left and the more he'd thought about it the more he'd become convinced that it might just work.

"I may as well go, the worst they can do is tell me they hate me," he muttered. "Not that I expect them to say anything else…" He was staring out at nothing in particular when the streetlights around him flickered then went out. He leapt up, preparing himself for a fight when a familiar laugh echoed round in the emptiness.

"My, my, aren't we the tense one?" one of the streetlamps turned back on, and Lucilius was revealed, leaning against it.

"I wasn't expecting you, that's all." Caliban muttered, sitting down again. Lucilius smiled.

"I came to tell you to come back to my ship." he said. "I would like a word with you." Caliban felt his blood run cold - he must have been spying on them, after all.

No.

If he had been spying on them he would've struck them down while they had been together, surely…but what if he had already caught Alexia? Perhaps he was luring him into a false sense of security…

There was only one way to find out.

"Very well, my lord." he complied. Lucilius grinned, a devious glint to his eye. He beckoned the youth into the light, and as soon as he walked under it went out. A minute later when all the lamps flickered back to life they were both gone.

x x x x x

That morning arrived quickly for Alexia. It was an important day for her - the first rehearsal of the recital in the theatre where it would be performed. However, her mind was far from on ballet. Her stomach was full of butterflies as she entered the building, the prospect of seeing Caliban after the following night strangely nerve-wracking. Almost as soon as she entered the auditorium she was pounced upon by a distraught-looking Crystal.

"Alexia!" she exclaimed. "Have you seen Matthias?" her face was pale.

"No, why?" she inquired. Now she knew the truth it was easy to see that Crystal and Nerissa were one in the same person. She decided not to mention the fact that she had seen him the evening before, just in case she became suspicious.

Crystal bit her lip.

"He didn't come home last night."

Alexia felt like she'd just swallowed a boulder. She sat down on one of the seats quickly, suddenly feeling very faint - where was he? "Are you okay, Alexia?" Crystal's green eyes were wide and the Charonian couldn't help but feel slightly confused at how someone this anxious and concerned could be working for someone as evil as Lucilius.

"Y…yeah fine." she whispered. She felt terrible - Lucilius must have discovered his betrayal - what if he was torturing him right now?! Her head was swimming - if this _was_ the case, then surely Nerissa would know about it already!

Something just wasn't adding up…

She opened her mouth, about to ask Crystal another question, when -

"Ahhh, Miss Risolto, here you are." Ms. Yakamori regarded the girl coolly. "Due to the unfortunate absence of Mr Reimo we will have to practise your _pas seul_ and then the _corps_ can rehearse their dances." Alexia nodded. "Come on, time for some warm ups." The still puzzled Alexia and Crystal walked to the stage together, both as worried as the other.

x x x x x

"Higher, Miss Risolto! That last _gran battement_ was _terrible_!" Ms. Yakamori was on the war path. As much as Alexia tried to concentrate she kept thinking about her missing dance partner. Every move she made seemed to go wrong, her landings were heavy, her elevation was poor and she kept wobbling every time she attempted her arabesque. The music stopped as she messed up her final pirouette. "MISS RISOLTO!" Ms. Yakamori screamed; a group of girls who had been gossiping in the auditorium fell silent in an instant. "That was probably the _worst_ performance I have _ever_ seen! You are supposed to be our prima ballerina - yet today you seem to have the grace of an elephant!" there were a few sniggers in the audience of fellow dancers. "I have a mind to give your part to your understudy…"

"But, Ms. Yakamori!" Alexia pleaded.

"However," Ms. Yakamori cut her off with a sharp movement of her hand. "As I know you have wanted this opportunity since joining our school, and that you usually perform well, I will let you off this time. Please try and concentrate more on what you are doing."

"Yes, Ms. Yakamori. Thank you." she bowed gratefully to the now not so irate teacher.

"Right, let us try again." she nodded to Crystal, who began to play again. This time was _much_ better - every move Alexia performed was precise and graceful. She spun and leapt to the music and Ms. Yakamori smiled approvingly. She got to the hardest move of the dance - the _entrechat_, and executed it perfectly…until she landed and slipped. She fell heavily, and banged her head on the ground, blacking out instantly.

"Alexia!" Ms. Yakamori exclaimed, as she ran to the unconscious girl…

…_Princess Charon was in her beautiful blue garden, pacing uneasily up and down the paths._

"_Where is he? He should be here by now." she muttered, playing with the ends of the long purple ribbons tied to her upper arms. There was a brisk breeze, making the princess's hair fly about her face. She now wished she had taken up Princess Venus's offer to re-plait it, as it was beginning to annoy her, along with the waiting. She sat on the marble bench and her eyes drifted to the delicate gold band on her left ring finger; it was combined with minuscule diamonds, sapphires and a pale purple jewel from Reimo which was very rare and very much sought after. Caliban had explained that he'd had the ring specially made and that it signified their first meeting - the diamonds were him, the sapphires the garden and the purple jewel Charon herself. It filled her with great excitement that in just a few weeks she would be married - future Empress of Reimo! Now if only he would hurry up… _

_Suddenly someone cleared their throat and Charon was brought back from her daydream - she raised her head sharply to look at Princess Mercury. Hiding her annoyance at the fact it wasn't her fiancé Charon smiled as the pretty blue-haired Princess walked in._

"_Why, hello Mercury, how are you? Please, sit down!" Mercury smiled back at her fellow Princess and did as she was requested, resting a book she was carrying in her lap. "Oh, is that the book I gave you?"_

"_Yes, it is. I was looking for somewhere peaceful to read it. The palace is rather noisy today and so I could think of no other place better than right here." the Mercurian explained._

"_Of course, and you are obviously welcome to stay here! I do hope you enjoy the book, I got it for you at my mother's recommendation." Charon told her, and then she could no longer hide her impatience. "Tell me - have you seen Caliban at all? I know his ship landed a while ago and he promised in his last letter that he would meet me right here as soon as he got here!"_

"_I'm afraid I haven't." Mercury replied. "I saw Florizel and Adia just before I came here but no Caliban." For some reason she couldn't explain the impatience suddenly turned into anxiety, however she expertly hid it from the other girl._

"_Hmmm…that __is__ strange. Oh well, I shall just have to find him myself." the dark-haired Princess stood up. "Happy reading!" Mercury smiled._

"_Thank you Charon, and I hope you find Caliban quickly." she said, and opened her book. _

_Charon wandered away, her heart beating steadily as she looked around for any sign of her fiancé. Suddenly she spotted Queen Serenity and Princess Serena walking along, laughing gaily. The Princess of Charon stepped up her pace and caught up with them._

"_Your Majesty." she hailed Serenity._

"_Yes, Charon, my dear?" the beautiful queen inquired, immediately noticing the apprehensive look in her pale blue eyes. "Whatever is the matter?"_

"_When Florizel and the Reimo Guardian arrived, was Caliban with them?" she inquired, slightly hoping that the Prince had been unable to travel - although she was sure she would've received word by now if he hadn't._

"_Why yes, he was. Have you not seen him yet?" the Queen replied, feeling rather puzzled herself as the girl shook her head sadly. The only reason the party from Reimo was there was because the couple had planned to travel from the Inner Moon to Charon together so that the Prince could meet his in-laws-to-be. _

"_Serena, have __you__ seen him?" the Outer Moon Princess asked rather desperately, however the blonde Princess simply shook her head. _

"_I am sorry we cannot help you, Charon." Serenity said sympathetically. "I hope you find him soon. I am sure he cannot have gone far."_

"_Thank you, Your Majesty." The girl curtsied politely and then continued her search, her heart now pounding in her ears._

_She looked high and low for her love, checked and double checked every garden and every room in the palace - still no sign of him. She'd asked anyone she'd seen on her hunt - Luna, Artemis, most of the princesses and Estrella, who'd offered to help. They were about to give up when Charon spotted Florizel coming from the direction of her own garden._

"_Floriiiizeeeeel!" she cried his name at the moment she saw him and, lifting her skirt slightly, practically sprinted to him. _

"_Charon do not run! It's not ladylike!" Estrella exclaimed, but Charon ignored her._

"_Princess Charon, I am so glad I've found you!" The adviser exclaimed. He looked bewildered, like he'd lost something important. "Have you seen Caliban?" _

_So, he __had__ lost something important…_

_Charon felt her heart sink, and tears sprang to her eyes as she realised something was very, very wrong._

"_No, I haven't! I was about to ask you the very same thing." she whispered. Florizel looked concerned._

"_I shall continue my search, I'll inform him that you were looking for him." he told her, she looked down at the ground despondently._

"_Thank you, Florizel." she murmured as he walked away. Sitting down on the edge of the fountain they were next to she mumbled: "However, I don't think it's worth searching anymore." Estrella leapt up next to her._

"_Don't give up hope, Princess." she said gently. "He'll turn up, I'm sure of it - and so should you be. You're usually so hopeful!" Charon shook her head._

"_There's something wrong, I know it." she murmured sadly. Just then she heard a voice broke through in her mind._

_Charon, I need to see you urgently. _

_She looked up, and Estrella tilted her head._

"_Mars?" she inquired as the Princess leapt up wordlessly and ran away. "I told you once Charon - don't run!" the ginger cat yelled after her, albeit rather half-heartedly. _

_The Charonian moved through the palace grounds quickly, until she finally fell into the arms of Princess Mars._

"_It's bad news, isn't it?" she whispered as she clung onto her friend's arms and stared her straight in the eye like her life depended on it._

"_Yes." the black-haired Princess replied truthfully, not knowing how her friend was going to take her news. "Princess Jupiter told me what was happening, so I attempted to sense his presence in the grounds." she looked to the ground. "He's not here - not in the palace, not in the gardens…not even on the Moon."_

_Charon let out a strangled sob as Mars's words hit her, and then threw her arms around the girl, who allowed her to cry loudly into her shoulder. Princess Venus and Estrella arrived on the scene moments later._

"_Charon? Mars? What is…" Venus was cut off by Charon, who had now thrown herself into her embrace._

"_It's Caliban," she managed to speak between sobs. "He's left me…"_

x x x x x

Alexia opened her eyes and lay still for a brief moment. _What a strange dream_, she thought, _it felt so real_…Suddenly a thought flashed through her mind - was that another flashback? Another flashback to her old life on the Moon? Her mind was replaying the events again - so many feelings!

"Alexia? Alexia are you alright?" Ms. Yakamori looked concernedly at her pupil as she sat up.

"Y…yes I'm fine." she looked around. "Just slipped, that's all."

"You've been out cold for almost half an hour!" Crystal exclaimed.

"Stand back, let me check her over." another woman shoved past Ms. Yakamori and Crystal and smiled gently at Alexia. "I'm Dr Masaki." she told the girl, "How does your head feel?"

"Absolutely fine, thank you." she replied as the doctor checked her eyes.

"I don't think she's concussed, but we'd better get her to hospital just to check." Dr Masaki announced.

"I'll get in touch with her mother." Ms. Yakamori said. "Don't worry, Alexia, everything will be fine."

x x x x x

"Wow, what a story!" Mina remarked as she packed plates in the picnic basket. The Scouts were, as planned, assembled at Alexia's house preparing for their picnic. Alexia, who had been to the hospital and been told she was fine, had told them about her incident at rehearsal, the disappearance of Caliban constantly preying on her mind. She hoped that it would turn out that he had just needed time by himself to think and that he would show up in the park.

She wasn't the only one with things on her mind.

The other Scouts were all feeling very excited about the picnic, not just because it was a lovely day but because of what Mina had told them all when they had been at her house the night before…

"_Well, Mina? Are you ever going to tell us this plan of yours?" Lita inquired as she and the other girls sat around Mina's living room._

"_Give me a minute, okay?!" The blonde exclaimed as she walked in, balancing five cups and a teapot on a tray. "Right!" she grinned as she placed the tray on the table and gave everyone a cup and then poured the tea. "Okay! __Now__ I can tell you!" she took a sip of her drink, placed the cup down and then hugged her sides with glee. "Oh, it's just too darn __perfect__!"_

"_What, the tea or your plan?" Rei inquired with a hint of annoyance in her voice._

"_My plan, although my tea __is__ good, isn't it?" she grinned. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you now. It's so simple - we want to help Florizel and Nerissa, right?" the others nodded. "And we want Alexia to be happy, right?" they nodded again. "So this is how we do it! We get Nerissa to come along to the picnic tomorrow and then we can explain to Alexia how she's on our side and how we're gonna capture Lucilius and get Caliban back to being the sweet, lovely person she fell in love with in the Moon Kingdom!" The other girls looked at one another, then broke into smiles._

"_Wicked cool idea!" Serena squealed, voicing their thoughts perfectly._

"_It is indeed a good plan, Mina." Amy announced. "I couldn't have come up with a better one myself."_

"_Wow, Amy, you better be careful - Mina might be getting smarter than you." Lita grinned. _

"_No fear, you'll __always__ be the brains of the groups, Aims!" Mina said quickly and they all laughed, brightened by the idea of being able to help everyone they wanted to in one go._

Getting in touch with Nerissa had not been a problem, as she had left them a communicator to use if they needed her for anything. She had agreed to come along and thought it was a great idea. That morning the five Inner Scouts had met with Luna, Artemis and Estrella to let them in on the plan, and thus it had been all set.

"That _was_ a flashback Alexia." Estrella confirmed, breaking the Scouts' thoughts. "That's exactly as I remember it."

"Can you explain how she could hear me in her head then?" Rei inquired as she passed some serviettes to Mina.

"That's simple enough," Artemis spoke up. "You both have psychic powers, and it was the same in the past. When you first met when you automatically clicked - and it turned out you had a very special telepathic bond."

"Telepathic bond?!" the girls exclaimed, Alexia almost dropping the knife she was holding.

"Yes, and it was a real pain." Luna muttered. "We never knew what you were thinking!"

"Princess Universe was telepathic too." Estrella couldn't help but murmur, a pain in her heart as she mentioned the name of the rogue Scout.

"I wonder…" Artemis remarked, turning the subject away from Universe as quickly as possible. "As almost everything else is exact - Alexia being as graceful as she was, best friends with Rei - could the bond still be there?" the girls looked at one another.

"Only way to see is to try." Luna replied.

"Alexia - try to concentrate on saying something to Rei." Estrella said. The girl nodded, and looked into Rei's eyes, concentrating greatly. After only a few seconds Rei looked over at Serena and snickered. She then looked back into Alexia's gaze and soon they were both reduced to fits of giggles.

"What? What is it?!" Serena exclaimed.

"I'm guessing it worked then?" Artemis inquired.

"Yes, it's amazing!" Rei replied excitedly. "Let's try it from different rooms!" she ran out of the kitchen and the others stared at Alexia expectedly. A smile crossed her lips, and Rei walked back in.

"This is sooo cool!" Alexia grinned.

"So come on, what did you say to each other?!" Lita asked. The two psychics looked at each other.

"Alexia pointed out that Serena had chocolate around her mouth." Rei announced. The group all stared at Serena, who looked very guilty.

"Serenaaaa…" Lita growled, stepping over to the blonde. "Just how many of my special double chocolate cookies that I spent all morning making so I could _share _them with _all _of my friends, are left, exactly?"

"Uuuuhh…" the Scout leader sweatdropped as she held out the empty box she had in her hands "They were just so yummy, Leet, I couldn't help myself…" The tall brunette's face went red with anger as the others laughed.

"Come on, let's get to the park before Serena eats everything else." Rei announced.

"Good idea, I'm starving!" Mina exclaimed, closing the basket lid.

x x x x x

Lucilius sat in his throne, a hideous smirk on his face.

"This is probably one of my best plans so far, I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner." he said to Quintus, who was knelt in front of his master. "Well, what are you waiting for? You know what to do."

"Yes, my lord." Quintus stood up and bowed, a strange aura surrounded him like a black mist. Suddenly his whole form seemed to melt into a grey mass, then move around as if an invisible force were moulding him. The irises of his eyes turned white, then grey and thus the transformation was complete - Quintus had somehow morphed into a grand looking man, with grey hair and eyes identical in colour to Caliban's. His clothes were beautifully cut and embroidered and he had a glistening gold crown on his head, which was encrusted with blue jewels. He walked out of the room and as Lucilius watched him leave he sighed contentedly to himself. Quintus was the only person in the entire universe who had wanted anything to do with him after what Queen Serenity had done to him. He'd travelled everywhere – from the Nether to the Central Zones of the universe - looking for allies, but all he'd got were disbelieving looks and scornful laughter. Comments like 'Oh look it's Lucilius, isn't he cute?', 'Look at the little boy trying to be a man!' and 'Aaaaw, is Lucie-wucie going to cwy?' plagued his memory, and so it was just as Queen Serenity had planned. She had humiliated him, no one wanted to know the great and malevolent Lucilius now he looked like a mere child. However one day he happened across Kentrak – the Planet of Exiles. It was there that he'd met Quintus, a forgotten shape-shifter with strong powers of persuasion, who in his time had been in league with some of the most feared warlords in history, but in time he had too become a laughing stock, his old age making him seem pathetic. After exchanging stories the pair had decided to join forces, in order to prove to the universe that looks weren't everything. Lucilius smirked; to convince the ancient man to join him he had told him that they would be equal; however due to Quintus's seemingly endless devotion and respect for his 'partner' Lucilius soon managed to beat the old man into submission, until he was little more than his servant.

"You are an old fool Quintus." He sighed, shaking his head. "So blinded by your adulation of me that you don't realise that as soon as I become as feared as I was before that sanctimonious Queen Serenity did _this_ to me," he looked down at his childish physique. "You'll be as dead as the Sailor Scouts will be…"

Meanwhile the disguised Quintus had made his way to the room where Caliban was waiting.

"Caliban." The old man announced in a deep thundering voice as he entered the chamber. The youth, who had been sat wondering what Lucilius wanted with him now, was shaken out of his reverie by the voice. He seemed to freeze for a moment, recognising the voice instantly but not sure whether he could believe it, before turning to stare at the man.

"My father…" he whispered, slowly getting to his feet. "Father, what are you doing here?" Quintus, obviously disguised as Emperor Caius, sighed solemnly, his eyes weary.

"My dear son, how I have missed you." he put his hands on Caliban's shoulders. "I am here to give you some grave news."

"What, what has happened?" he exclaimed, noticing how ashen his father's face was. 'Caius' looked downcast.

"The thing I have feared above everything else over all these centuries has finally happened," he said his voice trembling with fear and sadness. "Our home, Reimo, has been overthrown by Florizel and a group of girls. They somehow managed to assemble an army of rebels; not that they needed them. The girls did enough damage by themselves…" Caliban's eyes widened in horror.

"Who are they? These girls?" he asked quietly.

"The Sailor Scouts," the impostor said, his voice shaking even more, as if the mere mentioning of their name terrified him. "I just wish I had seen this all those years ago, when…"

"When what, father?" the prince helped his father to sit down. "Please, tell me!"

"When you were engaged to be married to Princess Charon – I am afraid it is she who is behind all of this…"

"No…" Caliban whispered, his grey eyes wide in disbelief. "I refuse to believe it, she would never betray me!" 'Caius' looked his 'son' directly in the eyes, and a black mist started to emanate from his body.

"It is true, Caliban." he said, the black mist filling the room. "The Scouts are now back on Earth, deciding what they shall do next. You must go there and capture Charon - I shall punish her personally. You may destroy the rest of the Sailor Scouts. Go, my son - for the honour of your planet!" the mist drifted around Caliban's head, but he didn't seem to notice it.

"Yes…" Caliban stood up; his eyes glowing strangely as he unwittingly inhaled the dark haze. "For the honour of Reimo…"

x x x x x

"Here we go, the perfect place for a picnic!" Alexia announced, throwing the blanket she was carrying onto the grass.

"Yeah!" Serena grinned, eyeing the picnic basket hungrily. "Let's eat!"

"Wait a minute, Serena!" Amy exclaimed. "We have to unpack first!" The girls quickly laid out the blanket and arranged the food and drinks.

"Buon'appetito, tutte!" Alexia declared, grabbing a plate.

"At last!" Serena sighed, shoving a rice ball into her mouth.

Mina looked at her watch - it was 12.58. Her eyes met with Rei's as she looked up again and they smiled at each other understandingly. Alexia was also keeping an eye on the time, and hoping that Caliban would come…

Nerissa was watching the girls from a sturdy tree branch high above them, thinking about how she would make her entrance and how Alexia would react. She was about to teleport to the ground and join them when a voice next to her broke her concentration.

"Hello, Nerissa." She turned her head to face Caliban, who was wearing a wicked grin.

"Caliban? Where the hell have you been?! And what are you doing here?!" she exclaimed.

"I don't know what you were planning to do, but I know that I can't let you do it." His smile broadened slightly. "This is _my_ mission."

"What? No!" the orange-haired woman exclaimed, suddenly noticing the strange glow in his eyes. "What's happened to you, Caliban?!" It was a rather useless question as the answer was pretty obvious to her - Lucilius must have done something to him!

"I've had my eyes opened…I now realise who the traitors are…" swiftly he leapt off the branch onto one below, and drawing his sword from its sheath he pointed it towards the branch Nerissa was still sat on.

A ball of white light energy suddenly exploded from the tip of the blade, and before Nerissa had time to react there was a loud crack as the branch gave way, sending her falling to the ground below. Caliban smiled to himself with satisfaction as he jumped out of the tree to meet his challengers…

The girls all jumped violently as they heard a crashing sound from nearby.

"What was that?!" Serena exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.

"I don't know, but it seemed to come from that direction." Amy remarked, unwittingly looking towards the exact place where Nerissa had landed.

"It was probably just some birds or something." Lita shrugged. _Now, where's Nerissa? _She wondered, looking around.

"Yeah…" Mina agreed, taking a sip of her drink as she too looked for any sign of the woman. Alexia couldn't help but notice how her friends kept looking at their watches and their rather impatient expressions.

"Um, do you guys have better things to do or something?" she inquired curiously. "You keep looking at your watches…" the others cringed slightly, having been caught out.

"Oh, no, it's just that the cats said they'd come and meet us at about one." Amy smiled, saving them quickly.

"Hmm, Estrella never mentioned that. Oh well, I wonder where they are?" Alexia responded, pretending to look around for Luna, Artemis and Estrella but really searching for a certain blonde-haired youth…

"A good day to you, Sailor Scouts." A sarcastic male voice greeted them.

Alexia's heart had almost leapt out of her mouth.

They all turned to face Caliban with astonishment.

"_You_!" Rei exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

"I don't believe we have been introduced.," the prince took a sweeping bow. "I am Prince Caliban of Reimo." Alexia stared at him, immediately picking up on how _different_ he seemed. The strange look in his eye and the mocking smile on his face made her feel more than a little nervous. She wanted to call out to him and find out where he'd vanished to, but she knew this wasn't the right time to be asking questions.

"We know who you are!" Lita snapped. "What do you want?"

"I want you…to transform." he said simply, folding his arms across his chest.

"Fine by us!" Serena announced. "Come on, Scouts!" Alexia looked at her nervously.

"What about Alexia? If he realises she and Charon are one in the same person…" Mina commented quietly.

"Come on, he's obviously found out!" Rei exclaimed, looking at the green-haired girl. "You never accidentally said anything to him that might have made him work it out, did you?"

"No!" Alexia spluttered before she thought about it. _I just lied to my best friend!_ She thought anxiously, suddenly feeling a twinge of guilt, but then decided she'd had no choice in the matter - if she'd told them the truth it would've destroyed the team there and then. She hesitantly pulled out her Transformation Pen.

"Mercury Star Power - Make Up!"

"Mars Star Power - Make Up!"

"Jupiter Star Power - Make Up!"

"Venus Star Power - Make Up!"

"Charon Moon Power - Make Up!"

"Moon Crystal Power - Make Up!"

The Sailor Scouts stood before him, prepared to fight him to the end…apart from one of them.

Sailor Charon stared at him, wondering what would happen next.

"Now, before we begin I would like to put a little wager on this fight."

"Name your price!" Jupiter yelled.

"If I win, Reimo returns to my father's hands." the Scouts looked at one another in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Reimo already belongs to your father!" Sailor Mercury added. Caliban's eyes flashed with fury and Charon started to feel ill. What had got into him? This certainly wasn't the caring and understanding individual she'd fallen in love with!

"LIARS!" he bellowed, and fired a barrage of shots at the girls, who scattered quickly. Sailor Charon was close to crying as she rolled across the grass. It was as she'd feared - Lucilius must have caught him and brainwashed him into thinking he wanted to kill her and the others!

"That is _it_! Mars Fire - Ignite!" Sailor Mars fired back at him, however the prince simply leapt over the flames gracefully, and landed right in front of her.

"Stupid girl, do you think your pathetic sparks are going to defeat me?" he sneered. Mars looked him right in the eye.

"I'll do anything to remove you from our lives." She growled, her eyes narrowing. She looked over Caliban's shoulder and noticed Venus and Jupiter getting ready to team up:

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"

"Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" Sailor Mars jumped backwards as the attacks combined and hit Caliban in the back. He fell to his knees, holding his lower back with a pained look on her face.

"Where is Nerissa?" Mercury hissed to Venus.

"I don't know - I tried her communicator again but all I got was static!" the blonde exclaimed, indicating the small round object in her hand.

Sailor Charon was watching Caliban as he got up again with a solemn expression on her face. He wasn't attacking them of his own accord, and she knew deep in her heart that if she could get to him somehow, talk to him, then she would be able to get through to him and break whatever spell Lucilius had put him under. Once again feeling the urge to call out his name, she took a deep breath and was about to open her mouth when he stared at her through narrowed eyes.

"_You_," he snarled, suddenly jumping back to his feet, his eyes ablaze with hatred. "_You_ are the worst of them all - you double crosser!" he once again unsheathed his sword as he ran at her, and Charon felt what only could be described as a mixture of nausea and a strange sense of déjà vu. "It is time for you to die!" the golden-haired prince sneered like a mad-man. Charon closed her eyes, her legs hardly keeping her upright. She suddenly felt unusually warm and her mouth was dry as her head swam - she knew that if she continued to look at the sword Caliban was brandishing she would faint.

The other Scouts suddenly found themselves frozen to the spot, powerless to aid their endangered friend. Sailor Moon felt tears burn in her eyes as she screwed them shut.

"Please, oh please somebody help her!" she pleaded out loud.

_Swishhh…_

The sound of the rose cutting through the air, the thorny stem scratching Caliban's cheek as it passed him, was enough to bring the murderous prince to a halt just half a metre from Charon, who fell to her knees in relief. Everyone looked up and the Scouts were overjoyed to see Tuxedo Mask balancing on top of a lamppost, another rose poised in his gloved hand.

"A prince should be brave and stand up for what is right and good; not attack innocent people!" he said sternly, his eyes firmly on Caliban. "How dare you attempt to harm these girls without a valid reason!"

"Keep out of this!" the blonde youth yelled at him. "This has nothing to do with you!" He raised his sword, about to leap at Charon, who was now being guarded by her friends, when the rose that had been in Tuxedo Mask's hand landed just by the mad prince's foot. "I have had enough of your interference!" Caliban snarled, his sword now pointed at the gallant Earthling. "I see I will have to dispose of you first!"

"As you wish." Tuxedo Mask declared and leapt from the lamppost, his cloak fluttering behind him. As he landed with the grace of a cat his cane appeared in his hand. The two young men charged at one another and were soon embroiled in their fight.

"Charon, you see now why we don't want you to see him?!" Mars exclaimed.

"He's evil, relentless, cruel…" Jupiter added, however Charon still refused to believe it.

"No, you don't know him like I do." She said firmly, getting to her feet. "Please, just stop him without hurting him and I'll prove it!" The other Scouts looked at one another, then back at Charon's desperate face.

"She's outta her mind…" Jupiter muttered, folding her arms.

"We'll do it." Sailor Moon suddenly announced, her tone firm.

"Really?!" Charon exclaimed joyfully, holding onto the blonde's wrists. Sailor Moon nodded and smiled at her.

"And you are too!" Jupiter stared at the Scout leader. "Look at him, Sailor Moon! He's a complete psycho!" Sailor Moon did as she was told, then looked at Tuxedo Mask – the love of her life - and sighed.

"I trust Charon's instincts," She said quietly. "As much as I trusted that I would get Darien back when he was brainwashed by Queen Beryl…" her blue eyes were wide as she looked imploringly at her team-mates. "Don't you remember what he was like then?" she pointed at the duelling males. "He was just like Caliban!" she took a breath and glared at Jupiter. "And so as your leader you will do as I say!"

And no one could argue with her, not after that.

"Mercury, double-team with me!" Sailor Venus yelled to the blue-haired girl, who nodded immediately. "Venus Love Chain – Encircle!"

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" The attacks combined to form a frozen chain of hearts, which quickly wrapped around the blonde youth, tightening as they did so. He yelled angrily as the ice started to form around his arms, causing him to drop his sword on the grass. Charon stared Caliban straight in the eye as she, the other Scouts and Tuxedo Mask stood in a tight circle around him.

"Come on then Charon, show us we're wrong." Jupiter said sarcastically as the seemingly insane prince spat and snarled like a rabid dog. The green-haired girl just continued to stare at the youth in a trance-like state.

_I know you are not yourself, I can see it in your eyes._ She thought to herself, as if trying to speak to the prince telepathically. _But how can I show them_? _How do I get the real you back?_ She felt her power start to increase deep inside herself at a rapid pace, and she reached up to remove her tiara. The others watched as a silver crescent moon appeared on her forehead, on the curve of which sat a purple heart.

"Hey, isn't that…?" Venus murmured.

"…The Symbol of Charon." Mercury concluded.

"Is she going to attack him?" Sailor Moon wondered out loud as she held onto Tuxedo Mask.

"Let's hope so, maybe she's finally realised what he's really like." Jupiter muttered. Sailor Mars just watched quietly as a beam of light shaped like the symbol on Charon's forehead fired out of it. As the beam hit Caliban in his own forehead he slumped to the ground, the ice instantly melting and the chain of hearts vanishing.

"What's she doing?" Sailor Venus inquired, awestruck by the spectacle.

"It seems to me that Charon is attempting to read his mind." Mercury remarked.

However Charon wasn't reading his mind; what she was actually doing was re-awakening all the memories which had been shut of by Quintus's powers of persuasion and removing the control that the old man had put on him for his master. The Scout felt her energy draining by the second as she came closer to freeing the prince from the shackles that held him. Finally it was done and, gasping for breath, Charon moved to where Caliban was getting up.

"My Princess?" he murmured, his vision clearing as he looked up at Charon's bright face. "My Princess! What are you doing here?!" He smiled brightly and Sailors Moon and Venus saw it instantly – the look of complete adoration in his eyes, adoration of the girl who now helped him to his feet.

"Caliban, do you remember now?" Charon whispered to him lovingly, her hands on his shoulders.

"Yes, Princess, Sailor Charon…Alexia." he slipped his arms around her waist and held her close to him, his eyes closed. The Scouts stood around feeling numb - he knew! Sailor Jupiter's green eyes were narrowed as she snorted in disgust and stalked off. The others chose to ignore it, each still trying to get over what had just occurred – one moment Caliban had been a wild monster, but now he was meek as a lamb! Sailor Charon was whispering reassuringly to him that everything would now be fine, still being held tightly in his arms when someone grabbed her shoulder, wrenching her away in order to turn her round. The next thing the Charonian felt was someone's gloved hand hitting her sharply across her right cheek.

"You liar!!" As she opened her eyes and rubbed her now aching, red cheek she found herself face-to-face with a furious Sailor Mars, angry tears sparkling in her dark eyes…


	11. Missing You

10 - Missing You.

Alexia let out a weary sigh as she walked slowly down the stairs, the doorbell ringing for a third time.

"I'm coming, give me a minute." She muttered. Her head felt heavy and all she wanted to do was to was get rid of the visitor so she could go back to her bed, where she had been curled up under her covers for several hours. In the dark, warm and comforting confinements of her blankets she had replayed the past night's events over and over, trying to come up with different outcomes to no avail. Yawning, she looked through the spy hole in her front door and sighed again. On the other side, seeming to look straight at the green-haired girl, was Mina. After closing her eyes for a moment Alexia plucked up the energy to open the door.

"Mina," She greeted her quietly, managing to avoid making eye contact. Although she had no reason to feel uneasy in the presence of the blonde, such was Alexia's melancholy that at that moment in time she preferred her own company to that of her friend. Mina eyed the girl curiously.

"Artemis told me that he saw you come home early, and that you looked upset." she explained. "What's happened? Why aren't you at school?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Alexia responded.

"Uuuh, Alexia, don't you know what time it is?" Mina inquired, looking thoroughly baffled. "School's over for the day." Alexia's pale blue eyes widened slightly as she realised just how long she'd been in bed. "So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" her companion pressed on. The green-haired girl closed her eyes.

"Well, it all started after maths…" she began…

"_Rei…hey Rei please wait up!" Alexia pleaded as she left the maths room and ran after the fiery-tempered brunette, who had the evening before hit her in a fit of rage. Since that incident Rei had totally blanked her friend, choosing not to sit in her usual seat next to her in the last lesson. "Don't do this to me Rei, we're meant to be friends!" Rei continued to walk quickly, pretending not to hear the other girl's cries. Finally Alexia gave up and broke down, leaning against a wall and weeping loudly. As Rei vanished around a corner Mr Hisai, Alexia's English teacher, walked out of his classroom and noticed Alexia in a state. He ran up to her with concern in his dark eyes._

"_Alexia, are you feeling okay?" the girl looked up, the whites of her teary pale blue eyes red. _

"_No…I'm not. I feel quite ill, do you think I could go home?" she sniffled. He and smiled sympathetically._

"_Well you'd better go to see the nurse first, then perhaps." he helped her up and teacher and pupil walked off slowly to the nurse's office._

By the time Alexia finished her story the two girls were in the lounge.

"So you pulled a sickie because of Rei? That's pretty major." Mina remarked, placing herself on the couch.

"I know, but I can't stand to see her upset with me." Alexia sighed, dropping into an armchair. Mina smiled gently.

"Well don't worry – you still have me, Serena and Amy; and we'll make Rei and Lita realise they were wrong about Caliban too – you just wait." Alexia's eyes glistened with joy.

"Thank you. You three were so great last night after what happened…" After Rei's outburst she had left Mina, Amy and Serena to comfort the upset Alexia; and so the three girls had got to know Caliban a little better and soon realised Alexia had been right – he wasn't the monster they'd believed him to be. Mina's smile broadened.

"Hey, it's only because we care about you! Okay, it was wrong of you to lie to us but I also know that you couldn't help your feelings…plus I think it's romantic…"

"Mina!" Alexia laughed. "It's just like you to find this kinda thing romantic!" Mina joined in the laughter.

"I'm not the only one who does - Serena thinks so too." Alexia sighed, her eyes troubled.

"If it had been under different circumstances I'm sure Lita and Rei would have as well; especially Lita, she's a sucker for a good love story." She recalled with a heavy heart how Lita had stormed off.

"Hey, you know what we should do?" Mina suddenly stood up again. "We should go to Serena's house. She told us last night that she and Amy would be studying there today, remember? Lita might be there too; perhaps the other two have managed to talk her round. We should go and see – and if they haven't succeeded then we'll have a go ourselves!" Alexia shook her head.

"I somehow doubt that's going to work." she murmured.

"Hey, there's no harm in trying, right?" Mina grinned, pulling Alexia to her feet. "Now go and get dressed! I hate to see you moping around!"

x x x x x

"Ouch…ouch…OUCH!!" Nerissa slapped Caliban's hand away as she yelled out in pain. "That hurt!"

"Sorry, I did tell you it would sting though." The prince said quietly, dropping the damp cloth he was holding into a bowl. He was stood over the woman, trying to clean the scratches on her face which she'd received when she'd fallen from the tree the day before. As well as the many scrapes on her face, arms and legs her wrist had been badly twisted and her ribs ached terrifically. "Anyway, I'm only trying to help – I have to make it up to you somehow…"

"Oh enough with the guilt-trip Caliban!" Nerissa exclaimed. "I've already told you a thousand times that I forgive you; you didn't know what you were doing." She slowly sat up, cringing as her ribs throbbed with pain. Not long after she'd fallen from the tree Nerissa had come back round and, unable to move in case she'd broken something, had watched the incident between Caliban and the Scouts from her position in the undergrowth. As soon as she'd seen that Charon had the situation under control she had managed to teleport back to the ship in order to contact Florizel. However before she'd had a chance she had once again blacked out from the pain.

"It's not just you I feel bad about…it's Alexia." Caliban sighed miserably as he sat himself down. "She was so upset about everything. She never expected Mars to react the way she did…"

"I'm not surprised she was angry – her best friend had lied to her, after all." Nerissa pointed out.

"I know, I know…" Caliban pushed his hair away from his eyes. "On the plus side though, I am thankful to Charon for opening my eyes to the truth."

"Truth?" Nerissa repeated the word suspiciously, her green eyes narrowed slightly. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that when Charon released me from the spell Quintus had put on me she also reawakened memories that I had forgotten – memories that made me wonder why I've been doing what I've done over the centuries." Nerissa looked at him questioningly as he got back to his feet. "And now I have made an important decision."

"Which is…?" Nerissa urged him on.

"I no longer wish to be associated with that monster Lucilius;" he said boldly. "In fact I wish to join with the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask in the fight against him!"

"What?!" Nerissa leapt up, then sat down again quickly as the pain in her sides became intense. The prince knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his.

"Nerissa, I wish to appeal to you – please join me. Afterwards we could return to Reimo and all would be right in the universe again."

"I…I…" Nerissa stammered. _This was not how it was meant to happen! _She thought to herself, panicked. _I'm not sure what to say!_ "I don't think my family would want me back…" she managed to say rather stiffly.

"Nonsense! I'm sure they'll be thrilled! And I bet my father and Florizel will be relieved; after all, you _are_ Guardian of our planet-"

"What?! How do you know that?!" Nerissa cut in, astonished that Caliban had somehow discovered the truth about her.

"Oh come _on_, Nerissa, I'm not _completely_ stupid, you know, you look just like your mother!" He exclaimed. "Anyway, I would tell father everything, explain that you were under Lucilius's power also and ask for his forgiveness! He'll be so happy to see us that he couldn't possibly condemn you!" Caliban's eyes flashed with determination. "At least think about it!"

"Well, okay – but I'm not promising anything." She muttered, looking away from him.

"Excellent!" The prince stood up. "I'm going to go for a walk, I have a lot to think about. I may also go to the dance school in order to rehearse, so don't wait up for me!"

"Like I would." Nerissa smiled as the cheerful youth strolled out of the room humming to himself. Gingerly she pushed herself up off the bed and slowly walked over to the computer, grimacing every now and then as her body throbbed agonizingly. Sitting down and letting out a sigh of relief she pressed a button and spoke, looking at a blank screen:

"Florizel? Can you hear me?" the screen flashed and Florizel appeared.

"Loud and clear, how are you feeling?" he inquired, looking at her in concern.

"Still in a lot of pain, but that's not the issue," She took a deep breath. "It's Caliban – thanks to Charon he's no longer under Lucilius's power. He wants to fight against him alongside the Sailor Scouts. What's more is that he wants me to join him so we can return to Reimo afterwards. He's worked out who I am from the family resemblance." Florizel's eyes lit up, and a smile played on his lips.

"I see…so Sailor Charon has saved us a job," he murmured. "This is very good news, Nerissa. Inform him that you shall join-" Florizel's order was interrupted by a muffled crashing sound in the background. "One moment…" he muttered, looking behind him suspiciously. Nerissa sat back and wondered what was happening as she watched Florizel get out of his seat and walk away. Silence descended for a brief moment, before a yell followed by a louder crash then a distinctly female laugh caused Nerissa's heart to almost leap into her mouth.

"Florizel?!" she exclaimed, leaning forward in her seat. "Florizel, what's happening?!" the laughter vanished, and the man ran back over to the screen.

"Something has occurred in the Aathean Bottle storage chamber," he informed her breathlessly. "Oh, this is not good…" he muttered, wiping his brow.

"That laugh," the orange-haired warrioress murmured. "It sounded just like Mirage…"

"That's because it was – I'm afraid she's escaped, and there's no doubt about who she'll be gunning for…" he took a shaky breath. "We must inform the Scouts – they're in serious trouble…"

x x x x x

Mina and Alexia spent the short walk to the Tsukino house gossiping and generally having a good time in each other's company. They talked about Alexia's flashback again, and started to wonder what it had been like to live in the Moon Kingdom and to be a princess; and what the Kingdom would be like now if it hadn't been destroyed. Finally they were stood at Serena's front door.

"Don't worry Alexia, everything will be fine, I'm sure." Mina gave her friend's shoulder a confident squeeze as she pressed the doorbell.

"I'm glad you're sure, I'm certainly not." Alexia bit her lip as the door opened and Serena beamed at them.

"Hey what are you two doing here?!" she exclaimed. "Not that I'm not happy to see you!" she hugged them both. "Please come in! We were just having a little snack before we start to study." The two girls complied, kicking off their shoes before heading into the kitchen, where Amy was nibbling at a sandwich whilst flicking through a book.

"Hi guys, have you come to study with us?" she smiled as she looked up at the newcomers.

"Afraid not, we just thought we'd come and see if you'd spoken to Lita today?" Mina replied, sitting down. Alexia stood next to her, looking a little nervous.

"No, I'm afraid we haven't." Amy replied. "We both tried but every time we started to mention last night she just changed the subject or walked away."

"What about Rei? Did you see her?" Serena asked anxiously, and Alexia nodded sadly before explaining what happened.

"You feigned illness to get out of school? Alexia that's terrible!" Amy exclaimed, absolutely horrified that anyone would want to do that.

"I couldn't have coped, she was in nearly all my classes today and I sit next to her in all of them."

"Well, they'll get over it, I hope." Mina sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

"A-hem."

Suddenly someone cleared their throat - and their attention was turned to Lita, who was stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Her eyes were burning ferociously.

"Lita, when did you get here?" Serena asked rather nervously, noting the look in her eyes.

"About a second ago, your mom let me in as she left." She remarked.

"Oh hey Amy, Mina." She added.

"You missed someone." Serena pointed out, indicating Alexia with her hand.

"Anyway I can't stay, I have other things to do." Lita continued, glaring at the green-haired girl quite contemptuously. Alexia felt her heart turn to lead and sink.

"Lita!" Amy exclaimed, clearly appalled at Lita's attitude as she turned on her heel and stormed out. Leaping to her feet the Mercurian started after her. "I'll go talk to her. Serena will you bring my books to the meeting please? We'll have to study later. See you guys in a while." she called over her shoulder. Meanwhile Alexia had dropped into a chair next to Mina, and the two blondes were comforting her.

"She'll come around, you know what she's like." Serena said in a gentle, reassuring tone.

"I feel awful." Alexia muttered dolefully.

Meanwhile a small girl with brown wavy hair watched them from the kitchen window; a toothy grin on her face.

"Found you…" she sang quietly to herself, her eyes flashing from brown to red before she vanished.

x x x x x

Lita's green eyes fixed themselves firmly on the end of the garden path as she stormed out of the Tsukinos' house; her hands tightly clenched into fists by her sides.

"Lita!" Amy exclaimed, almost like an admonishing teacher, as she closed the front door behind her and quickly followed the irate brunette. "Lita, stop right this instant!" Lita, unused to hearing the normally soft-spoken Mercurian use this tone of voice, did exactly as she was told.

"What?" she snapped, her long ponytail whipping her cheek as she swung sharply to glare at Amy.

"I would like to know what your problem is." the blue-haired girl remarked straight-forwardly.

"Excuse me?!" Lita couldn't believe what Amy had just said.

"You heard me, Lita - what is your problem? Since you don't seem to want to tell us of your own accord I thought I would ask you." Amy folded her arms across her chest and looked the taller girl straight in the eye. "Well? I'm waiting." The Scout of Jupiter let out an irritated grunt and then began:

"Fine, I'll tell you what the problem is, since you're all so blind to see it yourself. I am fed up with you guys jumping through hoops to keep Alexia happy. One moment we're telling her what a monster Caliban is and now all of a sudden he's your new best friend! She had the perfect proof of just what he's like yesterday when he tried to_ kill _her and the rest of us and what happened? Instead of finishing him off like we should've done we bent over backwards- no, sorry - everyone but _me_ bent over backwards to do what _Alexia _wanted! All she had to do was to make cutesy puppy-dog eyes and make a big scene and she wheedled you all into not hurting him! Well I'm sick of it, I'm fed up with the world revolving around Little Miss Outer Moon Princess! She's a liar! She told Rei, quite adamantly, that she had not given Caliban any reason to think she might be Charon and then it turns out that he _does_ know, and it's pretty obvious she told him!" Lita fell silent and looked at Amy expectantly. The blue-haired girl continued to hold the emerald-green gaze of her companion steadily.

"The reason why Caliban attacked us yesterday, just like the time on the Moon, was because he was under Lucilius's control. When Charon used her Psychic Force on him she broke those bonds and made him realise what he has been doing all this time. If you had chosen to remain last night you would have discovered this." she explained calmly.

"But how did you know, _before_ Charon used this 'Psychic Force' thing, that _she_ wasn't under _Caliban's _control?" Lita said matter-of-factly.

"That decision was Sailor Moon's - she chose to take Charon's side because she believed her, and as Sailor Moon is our leader we ultimately must go with her wishes. If it had been you, me, or any of the others in the same position I have absolutely no doubt that the outcome would have been the same." Amy responded, as cool as ever.

"Caliban cannot be trusted! As soon as Lucilius threatens to harm Alexia he'll go running back to him, you just watch!" Lita continued, determined that she was going to make the Mercurian see some sense.

"I trust him only because Alexia does, it goes the same for the others as well…"

"Rei also?" Lita remarked pointedly. Amy closed her eyes for a moment before responding.

"Fine, apart from Rei. However if she truly counts Alexia as a best friend then she will come round soon enough."

"Yeah, and then it'll only be me left who can see the truth for what it is." Lita turned away. "Now if you'll excuse me I want to be alone." she started to walk again, however Amy wasn't quite finished. A small smile played on her lips as she looked at the back of Lita's head and spoke once again in her level manner:

"If I didn't know you any better, Lita, I would believe you were simply jealous." she remarked, and saw how Lita visibly flinched as the words hit her.

"Me? Jealous of Princess Goody-Goody and Prince Fruit Loop? Give me a break." the brunette muttered as she continued on her way.

x x x x x

The strong wind whipped Caliban's golden hair against his forehead and ears as he watched the busy city from the top of an office building. Leaning against the wall which surrounded the edge he observed how the people and cars below seemed to be rushing around endlessly with no real purpose.

"How things have changed since the Silver Millennium," he muttered to no one in particular, although his voice was almost completely lost in the howl of the wind. "The last time I was on Earth people were so much more…relaxed." The wind started to die down:

"Help, oh someone please help me!" and as it did Caliban became aware of the voice of a woman crying out desperately from the street below.

"What is it ma'am? Are you hurt?" the youth soon found the woman as he scanned the vicinity from the his rooftop. She was sat on the ground, her hands down in order to hold herself up as she trembled and cried; looking up at the man who had just spoken to her.

"A man just snatched my purse!" she sobbed, "Please, he went that way." The man took off in the direction in which the woman had indicated whilst two other women helped her to her feet. Caliban's silvery-grey eyes closed as he let out a loud sigh.

"I see some things never change." He murmured as he recalled something from his very distant past. He remembered being on Earth and seeing a young woman begging for forgiveness to an infuriated man who claimed she had merely bumped into him. It was all very vague, in fact he couldn't even remember how the incident had ended or even why he had been on Earth; yet in his mind's eye he could still clearly see the terrified look on the woman's face.

He looked down to the pavement once again to discover that the man had returned empty handed; regretfully informing the lady that the mugger was nowhere to be seen.

"My money, my credit cards, my mobile phone…" she broke down again at the news and started to wistfully list to herself all the things she had lost. "Photographs of my children- oh no!" she slammed her hand to her mouth as her eyes widened with the shock of recollection.

"What is it?" one of the women asked her gently as she slumped to the ground once more.

"My mother's necklace was in there - I was taking it to the jewellers to have the clasp mended." She murmured dazedly, "It was a family heirloom - passed down through each generation since my great, great, great, great grandmother!" she became more and more hysterical with each 'great', and she started to tremble again. "It's irreplaceable!" Caliban turned away, no longer able to stand the heartbreaking scene, and felt something brush against his leg. Looking down he discovered a piece of newspaper, which must have been blown to his feet by the wind. Picking it up he read the bold-lettered headline:

**'Man confesses to murdering ex-lover'**

The story was about the end of a court case, where the defendant had broken down and admitted to stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death.

"How terrible, well I guess justice has prevailed." The young Prince remarked. "Although I have to wonder - how could anyone kill someone they once loved?" The paper suddenly slipped out of his hand and blew away as the realisation of what he had just said hit him hard in the stomach.

And then, he saw her…

Her ice-blue eyes were wide and shining brightly in the lights of the ballroom; her skin creamy and soft. Her lips, the colour of coral, were slightly open, surprised. The lilac dress which she wore was swiftly changing colour as it soaked up the blood which flowed out of her stomach, where the sword lay, firmly embedded there.

"Why?" he watched as her lips formed the word silently…

And then he let out a yell of despair, which had been residing deep within him all those centuries, as the wind began its mournful wail once more.

"_Aaaaaaaaagh!" Caliban cried out furiously as he threw the glass he was holding against the wall. "Where is my father? My mother? Florizel? Adia? I demand to see them! You cannot keep me imprisoned here - I am the Crown Prince of Reimo!" He grabbed hold of the side of a small table, lifted it above his head and sent it crashing against the heavy metal door. "Where are you, you foul demon? You cannot keep me here! I shall rip you to pieces!"_

"_Now, now, that's not a very nice way to treat your uncle, is it?" Lucilius's voice seemed to come out of nowhere. _

"_You are no relation of mine!" Caliban spat as he turned to face the speaker through which Lucilius's voice came. "You forced me to kill Charon! No one of my blood would make me do such a thing! I hate you, I hate you for everything you have had me do against my will!"_

"_Hmmm…you're not very friendly when you're coming out of the mind control, are you?" Lucilius's voice sneered. "I do believe it is time to end this little temper tantrum."_

"_You're damn right it's time to end this!" the Prince unsheathed his sword. "Come out here and face me like a man so I may end your life!"_

"_Caliban!" another voice spoke up admonishingly, but this one came from the doorway behind the youth. Turning around Caliban immediately dropped to one knee as he saw his father standing there. "My son, whatever are you trying to do? Threatening your guardian like that?" the Emperor scolded in his deep voice._

"_I am sorry, father." Caliban apologised, feeling his head grow heavy and his vision blur for a moment. _

"_You know why you had to kill Charon - she was protecting Florizel, standing in the way of justice."_

"_Yes, of course, father." Caliban stood up again. "And I promise, I __shall__ deliver that very justice, just as you wish."_

"_Very good, I am proud of you, my son." Emperor Caius smiled, then swept out._

"_Thank you, father." Caliban said as the door closed, his resolve once again restored…_

Caliban felt sick - how could he have fallen for it?! He knew his father well enough to know that he would never condone the murder of an innocent girl, nor would he sentence Florizel or in fact anyone to death without a fair trial! Now of course he knew that it had been Quintus all along - the amount of times he had watched the old man shape-shift back then and it had never once crossed his mind! Nevertheless, this revelation did nothing to stop the bad memories from flooding back. As they all flashed past his eyes the guilt of a millennia of death and destruction churned in his stomach and caused his head to spin. Suddenly he ran to a corner and threw up violently, trying to remove the horrible feelings he had inside. Moving backwards he tripped and landed in a heap on the floor; crying tears of redemption, attempting to purge his soul of all the evil that had resided there.

"I'm - so - sorry!" he sobbed into the wind, hoping that his voice would carry to each person in the universe whose lives he had helped to ruin.

Apart from his attempt on Charon's life one other memory stood out clearly within the crowd - and that was what had happened to the Earthling girl whose terrified face had haunted him earlier. He now knew that the man she had accidentally and innocently bumped into had murdered her right where she had been pleading on her knees. Afterwards he had gone to her house and burnt it down, killing her two young children and elderly mother. He also now knew that the man had been watching when the horribly burnt bodies had been pulled from the wreckage, and that he had simply laughed about it all.

Caliban wretched.

He knew all of this, not because he had been a bystander, but because he personally knew the perpetrator; who had not been a man at all, but a seventeen year-old who had been led astray.

That seventeen year-old had been Caliban himself, and the four innocents the first victims of what would be a bloody future.

x x x x x

Meanwhile, at Alexia's home Estrella was pacing up and down her charge's bed. She and Luna had been patrolling since the early hours of the day and had returned to the Risoltos' for a well-deserved rest when Artemis had informed them of Alexia's early arrival home from school.

"I wonder why she came home so early?" she pondered out loud.

"My guess is that it's something to do with Rei, she looked pretty emotional when I saw her." Artemis supplied a suggestion.

"That's the most obvious reason, especially after last night's little fray." Luna sighed and stretched out.

"That girl certainly knows how to pack a punch - Alexia's cheek was bright red for two hours." Estrella commented.

"She was totally shaken by it; I don't think I've ever seen her so shocked." Luna murmured. The other cats nodded in agreement. "I was quite upset with her for revealing who she is to Caliban, yet I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her as well. That's why I'm standing by her, she needs our support."

"And thanks to her Caliban is no longer controlled by Lucilius." Artemis added. "I seriously believe that he will come to help us very soon."

"I certainly hope so, then perhaps we'll be able to sort out all this mess." Estrella sighed, just as Serena, Mina and a miserable Alexia walked in. The ginger cat leapt up and jumped onto the girl's lap. "Alexia, what happened?" she asked gently.

"We were over at Serena's when Lita came in; she acted like I wasn't even there." she sighed dejectedly. The cat rubbed her face against Alexia's arm as a means of comfort.

"Where's Amy?" Luna inquired.

"She went after Lita." Serena answered. "She was so rude! She acted like Alexia was invisible or something!"

"And why did you come home early today?" Estrella inquired.

"Rei." Alexia murmured. "She was ignoring me as well."

"We thought as much." Artemis clambered onto Mina's shoulder. "Look guys, I'm sorry to bring this up but it's time we went to the temple, or we'll be late for the meeting." Alexia looked extremely apprehensive.

"Do you think it's wise to have one?" she inquired anxiously.

"We need to discuss this situation sooner or later, Alexia." Luna said pointedly.

"Well maybe I shouldn't go…" the green-haired girl looked down at the ground.

"Don't be stupid!" Mina exclaimed straight away. "You have as much right to be there as any of us!"

"And anyway, we're all here to back you up if Rei and Lita say anything." Estrella told her reassuringly.

"That's right." Luna agreed, walking towards the door. Stopping for a moment she looked over her shoulder to add: "If you don't come then I will say you are a coward." Alexia took a breath and stood up.

"Okay, okay I'm coming." She announced.

"Good, that's what I'd hoped you'd say." The black cat smiled.

x x x x x

Lucilius was in his throne room, gazing down at the moon through a nearby window. He made his hands into fists and squeezed tightly. Even though the place was now desolate and bare he still detested it with all his heart, mind and soul. He could still hear, after all this time, Queen Serenity's voice condemning him to live in a child's body for all eternity - total humiliation in his eyes. He hated her the most, along with Emperor Caius and Princess Charon. He closed his eyes and recalled being captured by the princess - her pale blue eyes shimmering in the cold light of the stars. He felt sick as he remembered how pleased she'd looked when he had been locked away before facing trial. Yet he couldn't stop thinking about her incredible grace and beauty…he'd promised her the universe, she'd thrown it back in his face. She'd told him the only thing she wanted was peace, and the only way to maintain that was to be rid of evil like him. He suddenly slammed his fists against the strengthened window and yelled with rage. He calmed down and smiled to himself; _it should all be over by now_, he thought to himself with great satisfaction, _Caliban will walk in at any moment_…

The door opened.

The small boy swung himself around, only to be disappointed at the appearance of Quintus.

"What do you want?" he muttered, walking to his throne and sitting down. The old man knelt on the floor.

"I have news from the Earth." he announced. Lucilius's eyes sparkled with sudden interest.

"Yes?"

"Caliban has been defeated by the Sailor Scouts."

It was too much for the boy to take.

Lucilius leapt out of his seat as if it were on fire, screaming maniacally.

"WHAT WENT WRONG? THIS PLAN WAS PERFECT!!" Quintus cowered as he answered.

"Sailor Charon used her psychic powers to break the brainwashing." Lucilius once again yelled with rage. "There is more." his servant continued meekly.

"Well don't just kneel there - TELL ME!" his master spat. The old man trembled as he concluded:

"Caliban is no longer under our control – he has succumbed to Sailor Charon's charms."

Suddenly Lucilius kicked the old man – three times in total. To say he was stuck in the body of an eight year-old his kick was pretty hard.

"Get out." he snapped. Quintus dashed out, clutching his stomach and in fear for his life. The furious man-child stormed back to his throne, where he slammed his hand down on a button on the left armrest. A keyboard and screen appeared in front of him and after tapping a few keys Nerissa appeared onscreen.

"Yes, my lord?" The woman regarded him coolly. Lucilius was about to bark out orders to the woman when the sound of a small girl giggling echoed around the empty throne room.

"Who's there?" Lucilius yelled, his eyes snapping up from the screen and scanning the room.

"Whatever is wrong?" Nerissa inquired, wondering what Lucilius wanted from her.

"Shut up!" the red-head snapped, leaping to his feet to try and discover where the giggling was coming from. "Show yourself at once!"

"Very well," The brown-haired girl appeared, sitting on his throne with her legs crossed. "Hhmm, comfortable seat you have here." She flashed a toothy smile.

"How _dare_ you! Get off!" Lucilius snapped, raising his hand to the girl who looked no older than he did. However his request fell on deaf ears, as the girl was jumping up and down excitedly whilst waving to the image of Nerissa.

"Why, _hello_ there, Neri! Have you been looking for me?" much to the surprise of the bewildered and angry Lucilius the girl suddenly started to grow and change. Her skin started to grow darker until it was a shade of lilac, and her wavy hair turned blue and red. She blinked, and immediately her brown eyes reverted back to their normal red colour. Finally two small red horns suddenly started to sprout on her head, just poking through her short, thick hair.

"Mirage!" The woman on the screen yelled. "So _that's _where you are! I order you to come back here _now_!" Mirage shook her head.

"Uh-uh, Neri, no can do. Since I let myself out you have no control over me…actually you had no control over me anyway! It was Illusia who always listened to you…" she paused. "Illusia, my dear sister," Her eyes flashed malevolently; and after spending a moment or two in her darkened reverie the shape-shifter finally blinked her large eyes and looked up innocently at Lucilius, who was stood in front of her, waiting impatiently for her to move from his throne. "Anyway, Neri, I'm afraid I have much more pressing matters to attend to…bye bye!"

"Mirage wai-!" was all Nerissa managed to say before the alien girl cut the communication.

"So, how may I help you?" Lucilius inquired with interest as at last Mirage allowed him to re-take his seat.

"I think you _should_ be asking how _I _can help _you_," Mirage smiled. "You see, we have something in common."

"Oh, really?" the man-child raised an eyebrow as he pressed the pads of his fingers together. "Would you care to enlighten me?"

"We both want the Sailor Scouts dead." The shape-shifter got straight to the point, her head tilted to one side as she admired the reflection of herself in window.

"My, why ever would a sweet-looking thing like yourself want such a terrible thing?" Lucilius gasped in mock horror, and Mirage turned her head sharply to stare coldly at him.

"It was at the hands of those…those…ugh!" the disgust and anger in her voice was enough to show Lucilius exactly how she felt about the Scouts; nevertheless Mirage shook her head and started again: "The Sailor Scouts murdered my sister!"

"I see, and now you want revenge." Lucilius remarked understandingly.

"That is correct, and that is why I am here – to pledge my allegiance to you." She knelt down before the 'boy'. "I overheard your servant's news and so I know what you were going to ask of Nerissa – you want Caliban, am I right?"

"Yes, indeed you are." The red-head smiled.

"Then I shall bring him to you, alive of course, and I will also bring you the dead bodies of the Sailor Scouts." Mirage smirked, however Lucilius swiftly raised his hands, palms facing his new ally.

"Not quite – I want Charon alive as well." He informed her and she shrugged indifferently.

"Very well, then." With that she stood up, curtsied, and turned to leave. What Lucilius didn't see was the malicious smile on the shape-shifter's face as she exited.

_I am sorry Lucilius, _she thought to herself, _but all the Sailor Scouts are mine…_

x x x x x

"Perhaps we should've cancelled the meeting after all." Estrella muttered to Luna, under her breath.

"Patience, Estrella. We've only been here ten minutes." The black cat responded.

"Ten minutes, feels more like ten days to me." Estrella sighed. There was a tense, almost suffocating silence over the Hino Shrine. The three feline advisers were watching their charges with deep concern in their eyes. Mina, Amy, Serena and Alexia were sat near the cats, every now and then exchanging a brief word amongst themselves; whilst Lita stood at the top of the steps with her back to them and Rei was sat a short distance away, a far off look on her face as she twisted a strand of her long, black hair around her fingers.

"So…anyone got anything interesting to tell us? How was school?" Artemis finally spoke up, trying desperately to break the tension.

"Oh, oh, something _really_ funny happened in gym today," Mina suddenly piped up excitedly. "I was watching some boys play basketball when this guy called Daisuke who is _completely_ in love with himself ran straight into a wall because he was too busy drooling over the cheerleading squad to watch where he was going!" she giggled loudly for a moment, however she quickly fell silent again as she realised no one was joining in. "Hmmm, guess it wasn't that funny after all," she murmured. Amy suddenly raised her hand.

"Yes, Amy?" Luna responded.

"I'm sorry, Luna, but if we have nothing to discuss then may Serena and I please be excused? We have a science exam in a week's time and Serena needs to study hard if she is to pass." Serena turned red, but still nodded in agreement.

"It's true." She sighed.

"We might as well all go home," Lita muttered over her shoulder. "The sooner I get away from this place the better." she turned and threw a contemptible glance in Alexia's direction. Mina picked up on this instantly and jumped up.

"Hey, if you have something to say, Lita, why not just come out and say it?" she said sternly, much everyone's surprise. Lita blinked her green eyes in astonishment.

"What do you mean, Mina?" she inquired.

"Oh you know what I mean! Serena, Amy and I all saw the look you gave Alexia at Serena's house, and the way you ignored her. I think it's pretty obvious you have something you'd like to get off your chest." Lita walked over to stand in front of them.

"Okay, you're right. I _do_ have something to say." she announced. "I don't wanna be part of a team that's built on mistrust and lies, and after yesterday's incident it certainly seems that's what I'm part of here!" Mina's eyes narrowed.

"I can't believe this, one little incident and the group falls to pieces!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "The way you and Rei are acting about it you'd think that Alexia had _joined_ Lucilius or something!" She paused. "But she hasn't, actually she saved us last night. Nonetheless, you can't get past the fact that she told Caliban that she's Sailor Charon." she held her hand out to indicate Alexia's saddened face and looked over at Rei, who was watching the scene rather anxiously. "Look at her, don't you think she's sorry? Do you know why Alexia wasn't any of your classes after maths, Rei?" Rei shook her head slightly. "Because you upset her so much this morning that she pretended to be sick so she could go home!" she stopped again, to take a deep breath. "You two have to be the coldest hearted people in the world!" as she tried to sit down again, the taller girl grabbed her arm roughly.

"Please stop!" Serena leapt to her feet, imploring the two girls with tears in her eyes. She hated to see her friends fall out, especially over something that didn't need to be argued over, and felt terrible for Alexia who was sat watching, her blue eyes wide.

"No! Not until Lita realises what happened was going to, no matter what we did!" Mina snapped.

"Uhh…is everything okay out here?" Chad appeared at a window, regarding the scene with curiosity.

"Just fine!" Rei said hurriedly, closing the window on the youth.

"Alexia could've easily avoided Caliban - we warned her!" Lita growled. "But no, she had to go behind our backs and tell him! Rei sensed she was with him the day before last, but when we went to ask her she said she'd been at home all afternoon, remember? Well I bet she ran straight to him as soon as we told her what he was like! She's nothing but a liar and a traitor!" That was enough for Mina, she gave a furious yell and lunged at the taller girl. Serena and Amy shrieked and tried to hold the irate blonde back, Rei did the same with Lita.

"Let me at her! If she wants a go then let her!" the brunette yelled, trying to struggle out of Rei's tight grasp. Rei looked over anxiously at the extremely upset Alexia, who was sat with her face buried in her hands, hiding the tears which were falling from her closed eyes - she'd _never_ wanted this to happen! Her heart was racing as plucked up the courage to look at the scene between her fingers. She took in everything quickly - the way Serena and Amy held onto Mina's arms, desperately holding her back; the threatening glares the two angry girls were throwing at each other. How Rei gripped Lita, looking worried…this wasn't how things were meant to be – they were all friends, and friends didn't fight with each other.

Finally she couldn't take it anymore.

"STOP!" She screamed frantically, then dropped her head and said more quietly; "Stop talking about me as if I'm not here; stop arguing about everything…please – just - _stop_!" Lita and Mina froze, then stopped struggling. She stood up slowly and walked straight over to Lita. Looking her straight in the eye she said: "You don't understand why I did it, do you Lita?" the brunette shook her head. "I did it quite simply because _I love him_." she paused. "I love and trust him - tell me, if it were _you_ in my position, would _you_ have been able to keep away?" Lita averted her gaze. "No, I don't think you would have. This situation has put a lot into perspective - like who my true friends are. Out of you Scouts only Serena, Amy and Mina have given me the benefit of the doubt and have decided to give me and Caliban a chance. Luna, Artemis and Estrella too." She took a slight side-step in order to get a better view of Rei, who was still stood behind Lita. "Now I don't think this is right somehow; deep in myself I know you, Lita, and _you,_ Rei, are also true friends of mine - am I right?" she stood expectedly, her head tilted slightly. Rei, suddenly feeling quite ill about the way she had treated Alexia earlier that day, turned pale and rushed inside; Lita stood staring at the isolated girl, then suddenly stormed off.

"Lita!" Serena and Luna cried out after her, to no avail.

"Alexia?" Amy spoke up gently.

"They just need some time." Alexia remarked firmly, turning to face her remaining companions. "And so do I. I'm sorry, guys, I just want to be alone for a while, so please don't call me; I'll be in touch when I'm ready."

"We understand." Luna reassured her.

"Thank you, I'll see you all later." With that, Alexia turned on her heel and walked down the steps.


	12. The Saving of Caliban, The Sacrifice of ...

11 - The Saving of Caliban, The Sacrifice of Charon. 

A single spotlight lit the wooden floor of the dance school's main studio, where Caliban was sat on the floor stretching his legs. He was feeling much calmer after his earlier rooftop ordeal, although his conscious was still being gnawed at by guilt. After he had finally finished crying and being sick he had come to the decision that as soon as he returned to Reimo (after dealing with Lucilius, of course) he would make his peace with his father and then he would deliver a speech to the universe – apologising for everything he had done under Lucilius's control.

He let out a melancholy sigh.

He wasn't expecting them to forgive him, though, nor was he expecting it to make him feel any better. At the end of the day he knew that all he could really do was learn to accept his past and live with it.

He stood up, and was about to take his starting position, when two slender arms suddenly slipped around him, encircling his chest from behind.

"Need a partner?" A voice whispered, tickling the back of his neck. He turned around, the arms still firmly wrapped around him, to face the new arrival.

"Alexia," he smiled before giving her a kiss on the forehead. "How did you get in here?"

"Ms. Yakamori lent me the key," she explained, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "I think I should be asking how _you_ got in here?"

"Teleportation, it's all the rage these days." he replied casually, tucking a stray strand of her soft green hair behind her ear, then allowing his fingers to run slowly down her cheek. She laughed lightly at his remark. "So, you here to rehearse too?"

"It's one of the reasons, yes," she sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder as the swayed slightly, as if dancing to music only they could hear. "Really I just wanted to get away from everything."

"Are you still having trouble with Lita and Rei?" he asked gently and she nodded in reply.

"Lita's made what she thinks of me pretty clear; she almost started a fight at the meeting earlier," she informed him of the situation. "But at least she's acknowledging my existence, unlike Rei…she's been acting like I'm not there." she sighed again. "The fact that I lied to her hurts enough, without her choosing to ignore me rather than attempt to talk to me about it. Oh, why does everything have to be so difficult?" They sat down, Alexia between Caliban's legs, her back to his chest. "I really hoped that everything would get sorted yesterday, but it only seems to have got worse." She leant her head back against him and he put his arms around her shoulders.

"I'm sorry." he suddenly whispered in her ear, the image of her bleeding, lying on the floor flashing before his eyes again for some unknown reason. She craned her neck in order to look at him with confusion.

"Whatever for?" She replied questioningly. He stood up and went to lean against the barre.

"For everything, Alexia; it's all my fault." He dropped his head. "If I hadn't been stupid enough to go along with Lucilius yesterday then I wouldn't have attacked you, and you wouldn't have had to use your Psychic Force, and then I wouldn't have…" she leapt up and turned him round. "Not to mention what I did to you on the Moon…" he continued, regardless of her imploring gaze. "You do realise that your birthmark is actually a scar, don't you?" She nodded, before placing a finger on his lips to quiet him.

"Shhh, I don't blame you," she said sincerely, her hands cupping his face gently. "You couldn't help getting brainwashed and anyway, it was bound to all come out in the open sooner or later." she let her hands slide down from his cheeks to come to rest on his chest; she felt how his heart beat strongly. "Rei and Lita will come around, I'm sure of it." Caliban couldn't help but smile as her usual determination shone through. "And as for that other thing…I already forgave you for that, remember?"

The prince placed his hands on her sides, looking fondly into her blue eyes, seeing how the spotlight caused them to sparkle like drops of dew in the early morning sun. Alexia closed her eyes and pressed her lips lovingly against his, wrapping her arms around his neck as she did so.

And who was he to resist?

"So, shall we dance?" Alexia grinned as she pulled away from the handsome youth, feeling slightly light-headed.

"Sure, I just need to fetch a towel from the changing room first, be right back." Caliban squeezed Alexia's shoulders as he walked away. The changing room was dark, and the only sound was the dripping of a shower. Caliban sighed as he leant over his bag to find his towel, only to discover it wasn't there. "How strange," he muttered to himself. "I'm sure I put it in he-" he never finished his sentence, because he suddenly felt a dull ache at the back of his head and then everything went black. Standing over the unconscious youth the small blue and red-haired alien flashed a grin, revealing a set of extremely sharp, vicious-looking teeth.

"It's just you and me now, Sailor Charon." Mirage sneered, as she threw the ropes she was holding under one arm onto the floor next to the unconscious prince and started to gag him using the towel he had been searching for, her eyes flashing from red to silver-grey…

x x x x x

Several minutes later, for it had been a lot more difficult to tie up the youth than she had expected, the now-disguised Mirage appeared from the changing rooms.

"What took you so long? I was about to send a search party in there for you!" Alexia smiled as she saw who she thought was Caliban in the mirrored wall.

"I'm sorry Ch- I mean, Alexia." The impostor corrected herself quickly, however Alexia noticed the slip-up.

"Are you feeling okay?" she inquired, regarding her companion curiously.

"Yes, fine, why shouldn't I?" Mirage responded casually.

"Well it's just that you said you were going to fetch your towel…" she looked at the impostor's empty hands pointedly.

"Oh, I decided…I decided that I didn't need it after all!" Mirage managed to hold back a smile as she thought about where the towel actually was - tied firmly around Caliban's mouth.

"Oh, okay…well, shall we get back to business?" Alexia turned back to the barre whilst Mirage eyed the girl's training back eagerly.

"Hey, could I have a drink of your water? I'm so thirsty." She inquired, noticing a large bottle sticking out.

"Sure thing, help yourself." Alexia was busily warming up and so didn't notice how the shape-shifter rummaged through her bag and how her eyes lit up when she discovered what she was looking for.

"Um, I just have to go to the bathroom, I'll be back in a moment." Mirage spoke up, hiding the items she had just retrieved from Alexia's bag behind her back. Alexia waved her hand dismissively.

"Sure. Jeez, anyone would think you didn't want to practise tonight." The shape-shifter slipped back into the locker room and then ran into the hallway beyond that excitedly. She looked down at the prizes in her hands - Alexia's transformation pen and communicator. Chuckling to herself she pressed the call button on the communicator, and Serena answered almost straight away.

"Is everything okay, Alexia?" she asked in concern.

"Oh, oh please help me! I'm in terrible danger!" Mirage yelled out, her voice now altered to sound like Alexia's.

"What's happened? Where are you?!" Serena asked anxiously.

"I'm at the dance sch-aaaaaagh!!" Mirage let out a loud scream and then cut off the link. "That should do the trick." She smiled, her voice once again sounding like Caliban's. "Now to play around with Charon until the others get here…" she headed back to the studio to find a rather impatient Alexia stood waiting.

"Are you ready now?" she inquired, her eyes bright in the spotlights overhead. Her companion simply laughed, causing the Charonian to feel even more irritated. "What's so funny?" she demanded to know, not in the mood for jokes.

"Oh my dear Charon, you just don't understand, do you?" came the response.

"Understand? Understand what exactly?" Alexia felt a shiver run down her spine as she noticed the strange look in 'Caliban's' eyes. She started to edge towards her bag.

"You do not understand that I have you exactly where I want you - completely defenceless." Alexia gasped in horror as the shape-shifter held up her transformation pen. "Oh, do not worry - I've taken the liberty of getting in touch with your dear friends. They'll be here soon enough." Mirage indicated the communicator, which was now attached to her wrist.

"Caliban, no! You can't let Lucilius win!" Alexia exclaimed, close to tears. What had happened? Had Lucilius been waiting in the locker room for him? Questions flew around the girl's head as she did the one thing she could think of - she ran for her life.

x x x x x

Rei sighed as she sat at top of the steps of the temple, her chin resting in her hands. She was trying to keep her mind off her troubled friendship with Alexia. She felt terrible about how she'd been ignoring her and felt even worse about hitting her. She looked at her hand, and recalled the throb of pain that had followed after striking Alexia's cheek sharply. If it had been the other way Alexia would've _never_ treated her so unfairly, she would've talked it through then forgiven her…She felt sick because what Mina had said was true - she _had_ been being cold hearted! She dropped her head, allowing her dark hair to cover her face, not wanting to see the world and most certainly not wanting the world to see her – a picture of guilt.

"I don't deserve to have any friends." She murmured. Suddenly she felt something soft rub against her ankles.

"Don't say that. You're just starting to feel bad, that's all." Estrella murmured gently as Rei pulled her head up again. She nodded, and the cat jumped into her lap.

"I can't believe how I have been treating Alexia. I'm supposed to be her best friend. I can't begin to imagine how upset she must be…"

"She's very, very unhappy Rei. That's why she came home early…"

"I know!" Rei suddenly exclaimed loudly, before lowering her voice again. "Sorry, it's just I feel guilty enough already without you rubbing it in." a smile unexpectedly appeared on her face.

"What's wrong?" the cat inquired.

"I was just thinking of the first time I met Alexia, that's all." the smile grew. "As soon as I looked into her eyes I knew we were destined to be friends. She's probably the only person at school who's really ever tried to get to know me and doesn't just treat me as a fair-weather friend. Sometimes I'd wonder what I'd do without her around…I guess I know now." she sighed again.

"So, you'll talk to her next time you see her?" Estrella inquired urgently.

Rei was about to answer when she was cut off by the appearance of Nerissa; who looked very agitated about something.

"Hello Nerissa, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Rei inquired, noticing the Reimo Guardian's bandaged wrist.

"I'm fine." Nerissa replied quickly. "I'm so glad I found one of you Scouts at last, I have some urgent news for you all."

"Do you want me to contact the others?" the black-haired girl asked; Nerissa shook her head.

"You can just relay the information for me." she sat down, holding her aching side. "Earlier today an incident occurred on Florizel's ship, which resulted in the unexpected escape of one of our warriors. Now usually this wouldn't be a problem , you see the warriors kept within the Aathean Bottles are there for a reason - they are all extremely dangerous criminals who after trial have been found guilty and thus sentenced to a life imprisonment-"

"What?!" Rei suddenly interrupted, her eyes wide. "And you're saying that it's not usually a problem if they escape?!"

"If you'll let me finish I'll explain." Nerissa remarked in a level tone. "I was about to say that they have been sentenced to a life imprisonment under our control. That basically means that they no longer have free will and so if they did manage to escape, which may I add is virtually impossible, they wouldn't be able to do anything without a command from either myself or Florizel."

"So what's so different about this one?" Estrella questioned.

"You may recall having to fight a shape-shifter called Illusia not long after Sailor Charon joined the team." Rei and Estrella both nodded. "Well, she had a twin sister, Mirage. The difference between these two and our other warriors is that they were not actually criminals but volunteers; in hiding from a warlord who had captured their planet and wanted to kill the girls for attempting to lead a resistance group. In exchange for our protection they agreed to help us in any way they could and so they became part of our army. When Illusia was destroyed Mirage was distraught, blaming herself, then myself and Florizel and finally you Sailor Scouts. Slowly she descended into madness until we had no choice but to treat her like a criminal and seal her into the bottle, since before she could come and go as she pleased. We felt terrible for having to do that to her but we simply had no choice if we wanted to protect you.

"And so now she's escaped…" Estrella remarked. "But surely if you now treat her as a criminal then you have control over her." Nerissa shook her head.

"Sealing her into the bottle was one thing - taking away her free will another. There was no way we could do it."

"So you mean she's-" Rei was stopped mid-sentence by her communicator.

"Rei - Alexia is in serious trouble at the dance school." Serena announced as soon as Rei answered the call. "She sounded terrified! Please say you'll come!" Nerissa listened to the news calmly, yet a nauseous feeling crept over her. Estrella looked up at Rei expectantly, and the psychic closed her eyes.

"Okay, I'm on my way." she informed the Scout leader.

"Did she just say the dance school?" Nerissa asked quietly and Rei nodded. "Oh no…"

"Do you think it's Mirage?" Estrella asked, and the warrioress shook her head sadly.

"I'm afraid it might be worse." she murmured, sounding downcast. "Caliban's there too…" A sudden rage hit her and she cried out, causing a post to shudder dangerously as she slammed her hand against it. "Damn you, Lucilius! He was ours!" she cursed furiously; however Rei and Estrella failed to see this display of frustration as they sprinted down the temple steps.

x x x x x

"I don't know why we're here, if she got herself into trouble with Caliban then she should deal with it herself - she's made her bed; now it's time for her to lie in it." Sailor Jupiter muttered as she stalked into the studio behind Sailor Moon and Estrella.

"Oh be quiet!" Estrella snapped. "You wouldn't be here if you didn't care!"

"Oh I care alright - I care about finally getting my hands on that scumbag Prince, and then getting to say 'I told you so' to Charon and the rest of you!" the brunette retorted.

"Where can she be?" Sailor Moon, choosing to ignore her griping friend, anxiously looked around.

"Well, there doesn't seem to have been a disturbance in here." Estrella commented, looking at Alexia's bag. "And she must be here somewhere."

Sailor Moon continued to pace around when suddenly her foot came into contact with something, which caused it to skid along the shiny floor.

"We have a problem here…" the blonde remarked nervously as she noticed what it was she had kicked. "She can't transform." holding up the pen, which Mirage had accidentally dropped as she'd took chase. Estrella suddenly felt her fur stand up as she thought about her defenceless charge.

_Oh Alexia…what's happening to you?_ She thought, her heart pounding against her ribcage.

"You guys better come in here." Tuxedo Mask suddenly stuck his head out of the men's locker room. "You're never going to believe what, or should I say who, we've found." The Scouts and cat joined him, Luna and Sailor Mars, who was crouched over the unconscious and tied-up Caliban.

"What the?!" Estrella exclaimed.

"It's gotta be a trap." Jupiter muttered rather unconvincingly.

"To be honest, I don't think it is." Mars remarked, removing the towel-gag from the Prince's mouth. She walked over to the nearby basin, soaked the towel in water and then dabbed Caliban's face until his eyes flickered open.

"Uuuuh? Sailor Scouts? Tuxedo Mask? Estrella and Luna? What are you all doing here?" he muttered as Sailors Mars and Moon helped him to sit up.

"We could ask you the same thing." Luna replied before he started to look around wildly.

"Where's Alexia? I think she's in danger!" he quickly explained what had happened to him and described Mirage.

"She sounds familiar…" Sailor Moon remarked.

"It's her!" Mars exclaimed suddenly, recalling Nerissa's earlier visit.

"Who?" Luna inquired. Sailor Mars bit her lip and looked at Caliban, who was looking at her as expectantly as the others were. She decided it would be best not to mention Nerissa in front of him, they didn't have time for explanations.

"Our _contact_ got in touch with me earlier," she said, placing stress on the word 'contact' and looking at Sailors Moon and Jupiter with raised eyebrows. Sailor Jupiter, Tuxedo Mask and the cats all nodded understandingly, however Sailor Moon looked baffled. "She told me that there was a shape-shifter called Mirage on the run; she's looking for revenge because we destroyed her sister."

"Now that makes sense." Estrella remarked.

"We have a contact?" Sailor Moon exclaimed, her hands on her hips. "How come no one told _me_!" Jupiter and Mars exchanged a withering glance. Fortunately before Sailor Moon could demand to know who it was Sailor Venus appeared in the doorway.

"Here you all are!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "We think Alexia's on the roof - Mercury and Artemis are on their way up there already!" Her eyes fell on Caliban. "Heeey, what are you doing tied up down here?!"

"We'll explain on the way." Sailor Moon took charge. "Mars and Estrella you stay here and get Caliban out of those ropes. Venus - lead the way. Luna can tell you what's going on and perhaps Jupiter can tell me who this contact is!" Jupiter rolled her eyes.

"Okay! Let's go!" Venus sped off, followed by the others.

Mars started to work open the intricate knots which Mirage had used to tie up Caliban in silence, her face turning as red as the uniform she was wearing.

"So, I guess I owe you an apology." She murmured, unable to look the Prince in the face.

"No, you don't Mars. I understand why you can't trust me - I'd feel exactly the same way if I were in your position. Who you really ought to apologise to is Alexia."

"I know - please, don't remind me!" she exclaimed. "I feel so awful about how I've treated her - some friend I am! If it had been the other way round I know she would never have behaved like such a baby. And as for the other thing…" she finally felt the courage to look him in the eye as the rope around his wrists fell free. "If the others trust you, then so do I." Estrella couldn't help but smile as the Prince took the Scout's hands in his.

"Thank you, Sailor Mars. That is one of the best things I have heard in a long time." He said honestly, and Mars felt her cheeks burn again.

"Right," she said, hastily pulling her hands away from his. "Let's go and help the others!" This time, instead of doing it the hard way, Mars used her powers to burn the rope around Caliban's ankles away.

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place?!" the Prince exclaimed, and Mars found herself blushing for the third time that evening.

"Uuuhhh, well, I didn't want to burn your hands, did I?" she exclaimed quickly.

"And what would Alexia say if I had to inform her that I could no longer dance because her best friend had burnt my feet?" Caliban teased, winking at Estrella as they ran along, for they both knew very well that Mars had chosen to untie the rope manually, not because she was concerned for the welfare of the Prince's hands, but because she wanted to use the time it would take to apologise.

x x x x x

"Caliban, please listen to me! You're being controlled by Lucilius!" Alexia tried desperately to appeal to who she thought was Caliban, however the words fell on deaf ears. Mirage laughed as she forced the girl to walk backwards towards the edge of the roof. Alexia wasn't really sure how they had come to be up here, all she had known was that she had to get out of the building - there was no way she could explain to Ms. Yakamori if anything inside got wrecked. She hoped the others would be there soon, as she was too scared to concentrate enough on sending a telepathic message to Rei. "Just give me my pen and I can help you fight him!"

"Forget it Princess - even if I wanted to return it to you I couldn't - I dropped it in the dance studio!" Mirage started to laugh triumphantly, however it soon died away as she started to shiver violently. A thick and ice-cold mist had slowly spread along the rooftop, and as Alexia felt a pair of gloved hands grab her arm and pull her away from the edge she knew that helped had finally arrived. As she embraced Sailor Mercury joyously Alexia felt relief wash over her, calming her nerves instantly.

"Thank goodness you're here!" she exclaimed. "I don't have my transformation pen!"

"What? Where is it?!" Artemis asked in surprise.

"In the studio - Caliban took it from me." She explained what had been happening as she looked over at the figure she could just make out in the mist.

"I cannot believe he has succumbed to Lucilius again…" Mercury sighed, shaking her head sadly.

"That's because he hasn't!" Sailor Moon piped up as the mist cleared to reveal her, Venus, Jupiter, Tuxedo Mask and Luna almost as if right on cue. Pointing towards the impostor the blonde Scout leader's eyes narrowed. "How dare you hide behind an innocent person's face! I am Sailor Moon, champion of justice! And on behalf of the Moon I shall punish you!"

"Hide behind an innocent person's face?" Alexia repeated in confusion as Luna ran over, Alexia's transformation pen in her mouth. "Oh, thank you!" she exclaimed, lifting the pen over her head:

"Charon Moon Power - Make up!"

Mirage was grinning hideously at Sailor Moon.

"So, you've worked it out." She remarked, applauding the Scout mockingly. Finally bored of the charade she transformed back to her normal shape, causing Sailor Charon to gasp, horrified.

"You!" she exclaimed. "I can't believe it!" Her heartbeat increased its rate as adrenaline and anger pumped through her veins. "Where is he? What have you done with Caliban?!" she demanded.

"He's safe, Mars is untying him right now." Luna told her gently. The news made Charon feel a little better, however she was still furious that she had been duped.

"You made me think he'd turned on me again!" she cried out. "I can never forgive you for that!"

"And I can never forgive any of you for murdering my sister!" Mirage screamed back just as angrily. "You took her away from me, and now you will die too!" her hair became long and grey and her skin wrinkled as she transformed into the ugly hag Charon recognised from their first meeting so many months before. Screeching at the top of her lungs Mirage charged towards the assembled Scouts, causing them to scatter quickly. Jupiter, annoyed at the fact that it wasn't Caliban after all, decided she may as well fight whilst she'd got the chance.

"Jupiter Thunderstrike!" she called out, sending a crackling bolt of lightning at the opponent. Mirage was thrown onto her back for a moment, her hair smoking slightly from the attack. When she leapt back up she immediately struck back:

"Copycat!" Fortunately Jupiter was quick and managed to dodge the attack as she ran forward, her fist ready to throw the first punch. Unfortunately however Mirage saw this coming and as Jupiter neared she transformed - into a beetle! Even more unfortunate was the fact that Jupiter was running so quickly that she couldn't stop herself and before she knew she was falling off the edge of the roof!

"Jupiter!" the other Scouts screamed, horrified. The brunette Scout was helpless and so closed her eyes and prepared herself for the cold, hard pavement…

However, it never came.

The girl found herself landing on what felt like two firm and strong hooks, one around her back and the other her knees. It took her a moment to realise that they were actually a pair of arms. Opening her eyes one at a time she found herself staring at a man's rather muscular chest.

_My knight in shining armour has finally arrived!_ She thought rather faintly. _Well, my knight in a leotard - close enough._ She looked up, and was immediately disappointed.

"Are you okay? You look like you were expecting someone else." Caliban remarked as he placed her down on the ground. Luckily for her he, Mars and Estrella had just arrived on the roof as she had started to fall and so he'd quickly teleported in order to catch her.

"Yeah, I was." She muttered, feeling embarrassed. "Thanks, I guess."

"No problem." He grinned. "So, are you ready to go back up?"

"Yeah, I am." She said. Taking her hand the Prince teleported them back up just in time to see Charon and Venus knock Mirage down with a blinding double-team attack.

"Copycat!" However it was not enough, as the alien simply got back up and replicated the attack.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" Mercury attacked from Mirage's left side.

"Mars Fire!" And Mars from her right.

"Copycat…and Copycat again!" the alien laughed as she crossed her arms and sent Mars a copy of Mercury's attack, freezing her hands, and Mercury a replica of 'Mars Fire'.

"What can we do? She's just copying everything we throw at her!" The blue-haired Scout exclaimed as she finished rolling out of the way of the shot. Sailor Charon started to think; she remembered from the last time she had fought against Mirage and her sister that something had happened which had rendered them powerless. _If only I could recall - what had caused their powers to be knocked out? _Charon pondered, and then it came to her. _Knocked out - that's it!_

"We need to hit her on the head!" she exclaimed. "That's how we defeated Illusia last time! When she banged her head she couldn't use her powers!"

"Leave it to me." Tuxedo Mask announced, swinging his cane around expertly. Mirage grinned wickedly as the youth charged towards her, and just as she morphed into a huge serpent he leapt over her, landed, turned sharply and struck her on the head with his cane all in one fluid motion. Immediately the shape-shifter turned back into her normal form, holding onto the top of her head as she winced.

"That hurt!" she complained, glaring at Tuxedo Mask. Sailor Charon ignored the alien's moaning as she stepped up to her and turned her around by the shoulder.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked simply.

"I've already told you that," Mirage suddenly snapped, forgetting her pain. "You killed my sister - and now you're all going to die too!"

"How exactly are you going to do that now, since you don't have your powers?" Mercury joined Charon and Tuxedo Mask, who was still stood behind the shape-shifter.

"I…I…" the alien girl stuttered as Sailor Venus moved closer.

"Have you ever thought that she might not be dead if you'd stayed to help her?" she inquired, and Mirage slumped to the floor.

"Yes! All the time…" the alien exclaimed bitterly. "Why do you think I want to avenge her death?"

"To make yourself feel better?" Jupiter asked scornfully, and a teardrop slid down Mirage's cheek and splashed against the ground.

"NO!" she suddenly yelled, looking around at each and every one of them. "I'm doing this to show her how sorry I am!" her voice became full of despair as she completed her sentence; standing up again she wiped her tears away and turned to Sailor Moon. "I have failed my sister, and I have failed Lucilius-"

"Lucilius?" Sailor Mercury repeated. "What's he got to do with this?"

"I was doing this partly for him." she explained, her voice emotionless. "I was to kill you all except for Caliban and Charon, who he wanted alive. However I was only going to take him Caliban - I wanted all of you Scouts for myself." she turned back to Sailor Moon, her red eyes as empty of emotion as her voice had been. "Please, I would rather die at your hand than his." Sailor Moon walked forward, her sceptre in her hands. Mirage closed her eyes and took a shaky breath, awaiting the end that would not come.

"No," Sailor Moon announced. "I refuse to do it." the alien's eyes flickered open again, full of confusion.

"Why not? I tried to kill you - doesn't that make me a bad person?" Sailor Moon shook her head.

"Wanting to die is the coward's way out. I don't believe for one second that you're really a bad person, are you?" Mirage shook her head honestly.

"I know you're not bad too." Mars spoke up. "I've been told about your past - about how you led a resistance group to attempt to protect your planet."

"I did…but we were overthrown, and many of my people who were involved got killed." Tears reappeared in the alien's eyes. "Illusia and I helped the others escape before leaving ourselves."

"That was very brave of you." Sailor Moon told her gently. "And I also think it was brave of you to stand up to us. If I were your sister I would be very proud of you. Believe me, I am truly sorry for what I did, but I couldn't allow her to hurt anyone."

"I understand, and I accept your apology." Mirage replied. "But it doesn't help to remove the terrible guilt I have within me - and Lucilius…"

"I am afraid there is nothing anyone can do to take away the guilt." Caliban stepped forward. "I should know. All you can do is to learn to live with it." Charon took his hand and smiled at him.

"As for Lucilius, we'll protect you from him." Venus smiled. Mirage's eyes lit up joyfully as she realised that she had nothing to worry about. The Sailor Scouts had never meant to intentionally ruin her life - they had just been doing their job! And now they were going to help her even though she had tried to harm them - that just showed what great people they were.

"Thank you so much, you are all so wonderful!" she grabbed hold of Sailor Venus and hugged her tightly. "I would like to go back to Lord Florizel, if that is possible. He had always looked after me."

"I would be honoured if you would, Mirage." the man himself, accompanied by Nerissa, walked through the Scouts to stand in front of the alien shape-shifter. "I am pleased to see you have finally returned to your senses. I have been most worried about you." Mirage's eyes softened as she heard his words.

"You were worried?" she repeated in amazement. "No one has ever been worried about me before, apart from Illusia…" suddenly her eyes lit up. "I've got it! I know the perfect way to make it up to my sister!" she looked seriously at Florizel. "I wish to return home to set up a new resistance group. I will fight until my people are free from tyranny, even if it costs me my life!"

"I can't think of a better way to apologise." Sailor Moon grinned.

"Yeah, you go girlfriend!" Sailor Venus gave her the thumbs up, and the others all agreed.

"Very well Mirage. As soon as we have settled matters here on Earth then we shall take you back." Florizel smiled.

Whilst this was happening Charon and Caliban were regarding the scene with confusion.

"I recognise him…" Charon thought out loud as she gazed at Florizel, then clicked her fingers as she placed him. "Aha! He was in the memory I got back of when you went missing from the Moon Kingdom - he was looking for you too! I can't remember his name for the life of me though…"

"It's Florizel," Caliban responded. "He's my father's adviser…the one who Lucilius brainwashed me into thinking was a traitor." He scratched his head as he pondered. "Whatever is he doing here?" He regarded how the Scouts were chatting to Nerissa as if she were an old friend. "I wonder…did he come to get Nerissa back?"

"Only one way to find out…" Charon commented and walked over to join the group.

"Soooo, who would care to tell us what exactly is going on?" she asked them, her head tilted curiously. "I thought Nerissa belonged to the group known as 'our sworn enemies'?" Luna and Artemis looked at one another, then at Florizel as he stepped up behind the questioning Scout.

"I believe we have some explaining to do," he announced, his voice causing Charon to jump and turn quickly. "However, first of all let us get inside where it's warm."

"Good idea." Luna agreed, and was about to lead the way when:

"Watch out!" Sailor Venus suddenly cried out, and pointed to where Mirage was stood behind Florizel. They all stood watching in paralysed shock as the shape-shifting alien was bathed in a column of light which had suddenly shot down from the sky and as she shrieked in pain, her body writhing.

"Mirage!" everyone cried out in unison, and ran forward. The first person who got there, Sailor Jupiter, unthinkingly leapt under the light herself in order to push Mirage out.

"No! Jupiter!" Sailor Moon yelled out as the brunette Scout was subjected to the same agony that Mirage had just felt. The blonde Scout was about to run forward herself when she was beaten by Caliban, who jumped in, grabbed Jupiter's arm, and then rolled out with her to safety. Sailor Jupiter felt numb as she looked up at the Prince.

"That's the second time tonight that you've saved me…" she managed to say dazedly. "I don't know what to say…" she continued to stare at him. _Hmmm…he looks just like Akito. Wonder why I ever split up with him…_ she thought as Caliban helped her to her feet.

"Just say sorry to Alexia." he told her frankly.

"Okay, I'll do that." Jupiter smiled, her doubts concerning the youth now a thing of the past. They noticed how everyone was looking up at the sky and so they joined them, Caliban's eyes narrowing as soon as he recognised the bottom of the ship they were gazing at.

"Please, oh please don't let him hurt me!" Mirage whimpered as she clung desperately to Florizel's arm. The Royal Adviser lifted the edge of his sleeveless coat to reveal a leather pouch attached to his belt and from this pouch he took an Aathean Bottle.

"Get in." he ordered her, and she nodded immediately. On removing the glass stopper a blue mist flowed from out of the Bottle, surrounded Mirage and then returned to its source. Florizel replaced the container into the pouch.

"Caliban!" Lucilius's voice boomed out from the sky. "Give yourself up now!"

"Never!" Florizel yelled back angrily. "You have lost, Lucilius! He is on our side again!"

"_You_!" Lucilius spat. "I should have realised you were hiding in the shadows! How could I have been so foolish as to believe such a pitiful woman could have stolen from you?! And Caliban! You shall pay for your betrayal!" The light, which had faded after Caliban had saved Jupiter, reappeared - directly over Sailor Charon. "Say goodbye to your little girlfriend!" Charon screamed, now realising what Mirage and Jupiter had experienced. The pain was like thousands of sharp, red hot needles being repeatedly stuck into her skin then pulled out again rapidly. She fell to the ground, her body quickly becoming weakened. The Scouts watched in sickened terror as the light got brighter and brighter and Sailor Jupiter felt herself grow pale. Now her doubts about Caliban had subsided, where they about to be proven? Would he turn on them just to save Charon?

"No!" the Prince shouted furiously, not knowing what to do. "Please don't hurt her!" he turned to look at Florizel. "I have to go…" as soon as he said the words the light surrounding Charon faded.

"I knew you would be sensible." Lucilius's chuckle echoed over the empty roof, and as the ship got closer to the rooftop a flight of steps came down.

"I am so, so sorry, everyone." Caliban said sadly, his grey eyes shining with tears as he placed his foot on the bottom step.

"You _can't _go," Sailor Jupiter exclaimed, her voice desperate. "Not now I believe in you!" he smiled at the brunette.

"Thank you for saying that, Sailor Jupiter." he looked at all the Scouts. "If I return to kill you - then you must defeat me once and for all." he told them. "I am not to be trusted."

"Only if you cannot be saved first." Sailor Moon told him seriously. "We will do everything we can to get you back."

"Do not risk your lives for me, I am not worth that much." he replied, taking another step. "Farewell, my friends."

"STOP!"

Caliban's ascent into Lucilius's ship was halted by the loud and heart-breaking cry of Sailor Charon, who had managed to get back onto her feet and push through to the front of the group. "You cannot do this." she exclaimed, tears rolling down her face. "I won't allow him to turn you back into the monster I saw in your mind! Lucilius!" she looked up to the top of the steps, where she could just make out a small silhouette. "I have a proposition for you!"

"And what is that, Princess?" Lucilius responded; the Charonian looked down at the ground for a moment and then back up at him.

"If you promise not to harm anyone here on this rooftop…then you can have me."

Her words ripped through the group like a knife.

"Very well, you have my word." Lucilius responded.

"NO!" The Scouts screamed, running to her. "Don't do it Charon!"

"I have to," she told them frankly. "Caliban's been through enough - I'm doing this because I love him."

"You must love him a lot to give yourself up to that freakazoid." Venus remarked.

"Don't you know it." Charon answered, nodding. Venus embraced her tightly, holding back tears.

"Then you go for it girl - and don't let the bastard grind you down. We'll come get ya before you've even had a chance to miss us!" After Venus let go of her Jupiter stepped up, and much to the green-haired girl's surprise she threw her arms around her and hugged her tightly.

"I think you're an idiot for doing this." the brunette told her honestly. "But…I am sorry for the way I've been acting, I hope we can still be friends."

"You can count on it." Charon somehow managed to smile.

"Time heals all wounds, Charon." a hand rested on her shoulder and Charon turned to look at Sailor Mercury. "And we become stronger people because of it. I only hope that what you are going to do will strengthen you - both physically and emotionally." the blue-haired Scout said wisely.

"Thank you, Mercury, and I hope so too." they hugged quickly. Sailor Moon was next; placing her hands on the Charonian's shoulders she looked deeply into her pale eyes and recognised the determined glow there well.

"Not one of us is going to be able to stop us, are we?" she commented gently, and Charon simply shook her head. "Well then, good luck, Sailor Charon. All our thoughts will be with you…" she pulled her close, a tear rolling down her cheek. "We _shall_ rescue you, our team is never separated for too long."

"You're wrong, Sailor Moon," Charon replied, and the blonde leader looked at her in confusion. "We are _never_ apart."

Meanwhile Estrella was shaking like a leaf, unable to comprehend her charge's plan. Her green eyes were wide as she watched the Scouts say farewell.

"Charon…Alexia…" she murmured, just loud enough for the girl to hear. However as soon as Charon's pale eyes fixed upon her the cat let out a stifled sob, turned, and ran towards the door which led back inside. Luna and Artemis immediately followed her.

"She'll be okay." Charon said quietly, trying to convince herself of the fact.

Estrella wasn't the only one finding it difficult to express her feelings.

Sailor Mars stood frozen to the spot, trying desperately to find words to express what she felt in her heart right at that moment. Trying to vocalise just how sorry she was for how she'd treated her.

The words never came.

"Enough!" Lucilius's amplified voice caused the very building to rock. "It's time to go, Princess!" At those words Charon took to the steps, no longer able to look at the people whom she cared for more than anything. She was only three steps up when a hand caught hold of her wrist.

"Charon." It was Caliban. "I have two things two say to you before you leave." he whispered, his voice shaking slightly. "Firstly, please do not take Lucilius at face value and secondly-" he cupped her face in his hands. "I love you." With that he kissed her one last time, before sending her on her way. The Scout sprinted, getting closer and closer to the ship, before anyone could try to convince her not to go. She bit her lip, determined she would not cry as she came face to face with Lucilius for the first time in centuries. She somehow managed to hide her shock at his appearance; although she had already been told about the Court of the Moon Kingdom's punishment it was still odd to see the person who had caused her and her friends so much grief looked no more than eight years old.

"Finally, we are reunited." the man-child sneered, as two hideous guards grabbed her roughly and dragged her inside.

"Noooo!" the Scouts cried out again as the steps were raised, the door closed and the ship vanished into the darkening sky. Mercury, Jupiter and Venus put their arms around each others' shoulders supportively. Nerissa comforted a visibly torn-up Caliban. Sailor Moon clung tightly onto Tuxedo Mask and cried for the fate of their friend.

Mars felt numb.

As she had watched her friend climb the steps to an unknown hell she had suddenly heard a voice in the depths of her mind:

_Rei, I know I lied to you, and it hurt me as soon I realised I'd done it. I forgive you for ignoring me today, I just hope that I hope you can forgive me too. I shall always consider you my best friend, no matter what._

Charon's message had shocked her so much that she couldn't respond, and now she was too far away.

"I didn't even get to say I was sorry…" she murmured woefully.

x x x x x

The smirk on Lucilius's face could easily have rivalled that of the Cheshire Cat as he watched the two hulking guards fling Charon into a cell as if she were a rag doll. The force behind the throw was so large that when she hit the floor she skidded along it, tearing a layer of skin from her knees; she also bit down on her lip, causing it to bleed slightly. She sat up, ignoring the stinging pain running through her legs and lower lip, to glare at her captor.

"Poor, poor Charon, lost her friends and true love all in one go." he clucked with about as much emotion as a stone as he stood over her. "Never mind; why don't you get some rest? You got an exciting few years ahead of you."

"Well aren't you hospitable?" she replied sardonically, earning herself a sharp slap around the face.

"Pleasant dreams, Princess." he snapped before slamming the door on her.

The room was dark apart from a tiny pin-prick of light coming from a small hole somewhere in the door. As soon as the footsteps of Lucilius and the guards vanished she knew she was alone and thus safe for her to finally let her vulnerability show. Breaking down in a flood of tears, which she had been desperately holding back, she curled up on the cold floor, wondering what fate had in store for her…


	13. Charon's Struggle

12 - Charon's Struggle.

The darkness was impenetrable. A very roughly estimated half an hour after Charon had been thrown into her cell someone had come along and switched off the light, removing the only comfort the Scout had. She was now sat with her back against the wall opposite the door, her legs pulled up and her arms wrapped around them. She wondered what time it was; whether it was day or night; how long she'd actually been there…until finally she came to the conclusion that it didn't really matter - in here there was no night or day, she was stuck in a black void where the only thing that existed was her. The exhausted Sailor Scout was trying desperately to keep her heavy eyes open - so far she had managed to avoid sleep, but it was getting harder by the minute. Her stomach was growling, fiercely demanding that it be fed.

She sighed.

At that moment she felt as if her life was over.

Lucilius had deprived her of the things she needed most - food, sleep, light and more importantly - friendship and love.

She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on Rei's face.

"Rei, please can you hear me?" she whispered, almost pleadingly. She opened her eyes again; for some reason her telepathy hadn't been working since she'd arrived on the ship and so she couldn't get in touch with her best friend at all. Suddenly she slammed a fist against the cold, hard floor. She was going to go insane if she didn't get out of there! She was thinking about shouting and banging on the door when she heard a faint click, and much to her delight (although at the same time it brought a feeling of great apprehension) the light returned. She held her breath when she heard footsteps followed by a metallic clunk - someone had unlocked the door! She stared as it swung open to reveal one of the huge guards, stood with a bowl and a glass of water. He walked in and handed them to the girl. In the bowl was a red apple and various other fruit.

She eyed it suspiciously. The shiny red apple reminded her of one thing - Snow White. If she took a bite would she fall into an everlasting sleep?

"You should thank your lucky stars that Lucilius is in a generous mood. He doesn't wish you to starve." the guard muttered gruffly. She turned her nose up at the bowl. "Not hungry? Oh well I guess I'll just take this back." he moved to pick it up again, but before he could Charon used her quick reflexes to grab it again. "I knew you'd see sense. _Bon appetit_, as they say on Earth." The guard smirked hideously, then turned and left, locking the door behind him. As the light was yet again switched out, Charon sighed and carefully turned the apple over and over in her hands, feeling its well-polished peel. Her stomach was growling more viciously than ever. At last she couldn't stand it - she closed her eyes tightly (rather unnecessarily, since she couldn't even so much as see her hand before her face) and bit into it - at first impressions it seemed safe enough; she hadn't fallen asleep, or worse…she sighed, and continued to eat, at the same time wondering just how long it took for a person to go crazy.

x x x x x

While Charon was sat in her cell pondering this, Lucilius was sat on his throne; the ridiculous grin, which had appeared as soon as Charon had given herself up, still on his face. He was feeling very pleased with himself, however not totally content. There was still the fact that the other Scouts and Caliban were still on Earth, not to mention that damn double-crosser Nerissa and the vile, self-righteous rat known as Florizel. They were probably planning to rescue their ally right at that moment. He shook his head - he wasn't prepared to let that happen. Anyway, it would take them a while to locate them in the vastness of outer space. His thoughts were broken by the appearance of a young man; it was his head engineer.

"My lord," he said graciously "I have come to inform you that we are on target to complete our project in a few Earth hours." By some kind of strange miracle Lucilius's grin somehow managed to get even wider.

"Good," he replied. "Very good indeed. Thank you for letting me know." the engineer bowed and left again. As the throne room door closed Lucilius found his thoughts going back towards his enemies. "I cannot believe I allowed myself to be taken in by a prattling female." he muttered darkly to himself, his hands clenching into a tight fists as he slammed them down on his armrests. "I should have known better than to trust her - she and Florizel must have been planning this for months…Florizel, oh, how I shall enjoy making you pay for everything you have ever done to me!" thinking about his bitter rival ruined his good mood completely. _I think it's time for some fun_…he thought to himself, before yelling: "Guards! Take Charon to the White Room…"

x x x x x

Sailor Charon was on her back, attempting to see the ceiling through the thick blackness. She was unbelievably bored out of her mind, so much so that at that moment she could've even put up with one of Luna's lectures.

"I wish something would happen." she muttered to herself.

Her wish was answered instantly.

She sat up sharply as light once again filtered through the small hole in the door, the lock was opened and the door thrown open to reveal four of Lucilius's enormous guards. Two marched in and grabbed her arms.

"Lucilius wishes to see you." One of them growled and they pulled her roughly to her feet and marched her out. The Scout's legs were weak from exhaustion, making it difficult for her to charge along at the same speed as the guards. Every time she slowed down one of them would hit her across the back with a whip, causing her to cringe slightly and move faster. When the whip hit her for a third time she bit down on her lip, reopening the wound she'd made earlier. Blood once again trickled from it. At last they reached a huge silver door, which opened automatically as they reached it…

It was a white hell - the walls, floors, everything, was pure white and Charon's eyes, weak from light deprivation immediately began to ache and water. She was dragged to two poles, to which massive chains were attached. As she tried desperately to shield her eyes from the glare of the room the guards grabbed her arms and pulled them up so they were out from her sides, then shackled them with the chains. She wondered why they hadn't fastened her ankles up, but suddenly found out when a huge staff was hit straight at the back on her knees, causing her to fall to the floor. Her arms were now above her, and they manacled her ankles together.

"Awww, look at the little lost Sailor Scout, don't she look so cute all chained up like that?" one of them remarked in a sarcastic manner, causing the others to guffaw loudly as they marched out. Charon grimaced; her skinned knees were stinging as she was forced to rest all her weight on them and her shoulders and top of her back were already starting to ache from having to hold her arms up. She had been alone for about a minute when the door swung open again and Lucilius swept in. He stood over the restrained Charon grinning maniacally, his eyes flashing wildly. The Scout just looked up at him with defiance.

"Poor, poor Charon," Lucilius sneered sarcastically. "Not looking so pretty now are we?" unfortunately this was the truth - her usually neat plait of hair was bedraggled and in the bright light of the room it was easy to notice the slight bruises and scratches on her legs and arms, the result of being thrown into her cell so roughly. Due to her lack of sleep she had dark patches under her eyes and blood was trickling down her chin from her cut lip. She continued to glare icily as Lucilius laughed cruelly.

"What do you want with me?" she demanded hotly.

"An excellent question, Princess." He remarked as he continued to smile wickedly. "Two things really - number one, revenge for this." he gestured to his child-like form. "Although it _is_ a shame that Princess Universe is no longer around; I'd like you to realise that it is not just you whom I have a vendetta against…"

"What the hell do you mean?" Charon, who wasn't in the mood for cryptics, snapped. "What's Princess Universe got to do with all of this?"

"Oh, I forget! You can't remember, can you?. You and Universe were partners for quite some time, I must say you were quite the formidable crime-fighting duo. She helped you capture me, so you see it's her fault too." Lucilius explained. "So don't feel that you're totally to blame…"

"What's the other thing you want me for?" she continued. He leant closer to the Charonian Scout, and she felt a shudder shoot down her spine as he whispered:

"Simple - the Plutonian Sphere."

"Never!" she declared loudly and angrily, the words echoing off the white walls. "I will _never_ hand it over to you!" his eyes narrowed as he lifted his hand and hit her across the face; the ring on one of his fingers caught her and cut her cheek.

"You dare to defy me?" he yelled angrily.

_Wow, talk about mood swings_, Charon couldn't help thinking, as Lucilius paced around the room for a moment before yelling: "Quintus!"

The old man hobbled in, looking as terrified as usual. This room always filled him with a strange kind of awe - he had heard that it had been, before Lucilius's 'transformation', used regularly for the torture of captured spies and other 'useful' people. The few guards, who had remained faithful to Lucilius after his punishment, had regaled Quintus with the tales of how screams and desperate pleas had once filled the corridors of the ship, as well as the maniacal laughter of Lucilius himself.

This was the first time since then that the room had been used, and Quintus wasn't sure just how prepared he was to hear the screams of a young girl…

"Yes, my lord?" the elderly man inquired with a trembling voice, unable to take his eyes off the seemingly defenceless Sailor Scout.

"I think it's time we introduced our guest to Electra!" his boy master announced, his voice rising with every word. Quintus nodded, and hobbled away again; finally returning with a long black stick which he passed to Lucilius before limping out of the room. The insane 'boy' pressed a button on the end of the stick and it immediately began to crackle with an electric charge. "My, it _has _been a long time, hasn't it?" he murmured almost lovingly to the stick he called 'Electra'. He then turned to sneer at Charon. "So, Princess - dare you defy me _now_?!" Charon averted her gaze, and he struck her in the middle of her back. She couldn't help but scream and arch as she felt the sharp, sickening pain of the charged stick, which felt even worse than the light-torture she'd been subjected to before giving herself up. When he removed it again she gasped for breath and kept her eyes firmly closed, determined she wouldn't cry. She pictured her friends one by one - Lita, Mina, Serena, Amy, Rei, Estrella and then…Caliban. She recalled the looks on their faces as she had sacrificed herself for her true love's safety, and how Estrella, her beloved cat, had ran away from her. As Rei's shocked face filled her mind once again Charon hoped with all her heart that her best friend had received her final telepathic message. Finally she remembered her heart skipping a beat as Caliban had told her that he loved her…_I love you too Caliban, I only hope that I'll be able to tell you that personally one day_, she thought as she doubled over as 'Electra' was driven into her stomach. Her eyes flew open. _No, wait - I __shall__ tell you that, I promise. Lucilius will __never__ break me, if he wants the Plutonian Sphere so much he'll have to pry it from my dead hands, and I won't let that happen…_She screamed as she was yet again shocked.

No, she wouldn't give up easily - not while the fate of the Earth, galaxy…perhaps the universe - lay in her hands…

x x x x x

Half an hour later-

Lucilius was beginning to grow tired. Charon had stopped squirming and yelling out almost fifteen minutes ago. He sighed as he yet again prodded her with the stick.

"I thought this would be more enjoyable." he said sulkily, switching off the electric charge. "Guards, take her back to her cell, I need to think of some better way to make her suffer." he stalked out, and the emotionally and physically drained Charon let go of her breath. The guards unfastened the chains, causing the girl to collapse in a heap.

"Come on then, get moving!" one of them exclaimed, giving her a sharp kick in the side. Her ribs now aching along with the rest of her, Charon crawled along the ground, which caused her knees to hurt even more however she was unable to pull herself up onto her feet. The guards laughed as if it were some hilarious joke every time her arms, still feeling dead from lack of circulation to them, gave out and caused her to collapse totally.

"I can see right up her skirt from here." One of them commented sleazily as they walked along with her, two in front and two behind.

"Hey, she's only a kid! What are ya? Some kinda sick pervert?" one of the guards in front of her, in fact the same guard who had brought her food earlier, exclaimed. "Ya know, I think I'll pick her up, or else we could be here forever!" Charon was too weak to fight as the guard grabbed her by the waist and tossed her over his shoulder. They quickly marched the rest of the way to her cell and the guard walked in and dropped her hard, knocking the air out of her. "Oops, guess my hands slipped." he commented jokingly to his colleagues. They slammed the door and marched off again, laughing. The broken Sailor Scout of Charon lay on her side, feeling the blood starting to pulse rather painfully through her arms again. She decided that it would be best for her to continue to remain in the position she was in at the moment, as she was worried that the kick she'd received from the guard plus the way she had been dropped into her cell had broken her ribs and so she didn't want to risk puncturing a lung. The pitch blackness seemed to spin before her, her eyelids feeling like lead weights as she fought to keep them open. _I can't go on…_she thought to herself sadly. _I just know that if he tortures me again like that I'll pass out…and maybe I'll die._ She couldn't help but feel that death would be the best way out right now, at least it would mean she wouldn't have to experience another session in the White Room…

But no, she couldn't die now, it was just too complicated. _How the heck would the others be able to explain what had happened to my parents without telling them absolutely everything?_ Was the main thought running through her mind.

Then suddenly it occurred to her.

"I am so stupid!" she exclaimed quietly, using the very little mental strength she had left to summon the Plutonian Sphere. It was so simple! She would just contact Sailor Pluto and ask her to teleport her out of there! She simply _couldn't _refuse to help her niece at her hour of need!

But the plea for help would never come.

Summoning the Sphere had taken more of what very little energy the Scout had remaining than she had expected. Her mind suddenly going as black as the room, Charon's eyes rolled back and her eyelids dropped as exhaustion took her over.

…"Alexia… Alexia?" Rei's voice was gentle and soothing. Alexia opened her eyes, and found she was no longer alone in her cell.

"Rei…" she found her voice quickly. "Are you really here?" Her head was on Rei's lap and the black-haired Scout softly stroked her friend's fringe out of her eyes. Alexia managed to smile, and realised she was in her normal clothes again.

"No, I'm sorry, I'm not. I've been trying to contact you since you left, and I'm so glad now that I finally have." Rei told her.

"I've been trying too, and I'm also glad." Alexia told her honestly. Her friend's presence was comforting. There was so much she wanted to tell her, however she knew that due to her weakened state of mind time was against them.

"How are you?" Rei inquired. "I'm so worried about you, this place frightens me - I can sense pain and suffering here." Alexia nodded, and was no longer able to hold back her feelings.

"Rei, I'm scared." she whispered, her voice trembling as she grabbed hold of Rei's hand tightly, as if the girl could take her with her, away from Lucilius's hell, when they woke up.

"What of?" Rei inquired calmly, and Alexia felt panic take hold of her as she answered.

"Of never seeing any of you again; of what Lucilius might do to you all…" her voice fell to a mere whisper. "But most of all I fear that I am going to go insane…"

"No!" Rei said sharply. "Do not speak like that!"

"I'm sorry, it's just it's so difficult…Lucilius isn't being exactly nice to me…" her best friend placed a finger to her lips.

"Shhh, listen. We're coming for you, so don't be afraid." she said quietly.

"We? All you Scouts?" Alexia said anxiously; Rei nodded. "No, I don't want you guys in any danger. Leave me."

"Never Alexia, you're part of the team." Rei said firmly. "I'm not going to let you go, neither are the others…especially Caliban."

"Caliban is coming too?" Alexia murmured, and Rei nodded again. "You guys…you're just too good to me." the Charonian sighed. "I guess I have no say in this, so I have all my faith in you."

"Thank you, Alexia, just hold on for a little while longer." Alexia sat up and they hugged. "Be strong, we love and trust you - _all_ of us."

"Thank _you_, Rei." she whispered, and then remembered something. "Did you get my other message, the one before I got on the ship?"

"Yes, I did. I wanted to tell you how sorry I was before, but…" her voice was starting to fade, and Alexia clung on desperately as her friend started to disappear into the darkness.

_No, please don't leave me again!_ Alexia begged in her mind, before falling back into her pit of unconsciousness.

x x x x x

Lucilius was in his private quarters, lounging comfortably on a navy blue couch as he contemplated the many painful and degrading ways in which he could drag out the rest of Charon's life. _I am going to make her wish she had never been reborn_, he smiled to himself, content that he had come up with enough methods for at least the next year - Plutonian year, that was. He was just about to get up from his seat in order to pay a visit to his 'guest' when someone cautiously knocked on his door.

"What is it, Quintus?" Lucilius muttered, recognising the rap. The old man shuffled in, bowed, then knelt before his master.

"My lord, I have received word from one of your spies that the Sailor Scouts and Caliban will be leaving Earth very soon." he announced nervously.

"What? Why is this?" Lucilius demanded to know, feeling his good mood once again slip. "They cannot possibly have located us so quickly!" Quintus swallowed hard before continuing, and prepared himself for the hard kick in the ribs that usually came when he delivered bad news.

"It seems Nerissa planted a tracking device somewhere on our ship, master." he cowered as the crimson-haired 'boy' let out a furious yell, leapt to his feet and, much to Quintus's relief, chose to kick the leg of a small wooden table that stood next to the couch, the leg instantly snapped and the table collapsed, sending a small carafe of wine smashing to the hard floor; its red contents spreading out like blood along the white tiles.

"Damn, damn, damn!" he cursed. "I'll _destroy _them, I'll destroy them all!" he stood still for a moment, taking the time to regain his composure. "Well, I suppose we ought to cause a little distraction on Earth so we can find this tracking device, destroy it, and move on." he walked over to a shelf, which held a number of Aathean Bottles identical to those that Florizel and Nerissa used. "It is good job that I decided to save a couple of these for myself…"he grabbed one and threw it at Quintus. "Here, make sure that none of them get away."

"Yes, my lord." Quintus hurried towards the door, thankful that his ribs were safe for at least the moment.

"No, no…wait a moment…" the old man turned back towards Lucilius, who had a thoughtful expression on his face. "I have a special task for you." Walking over to the wall which faced the couch he took his favourite painting (which was a hideous portrayal of the final battle between the Moon and Dark Kingdom) down to reveal a small safe. After quickly entering the code Lucilius removed a small brown bag, which he threw to his elderly 'partner'. "Whilst the Sailor Scouts are fighting I want you to do something very, very important…"

As Lucilius sent Quintus off on his mission, Sailor Charon was still out-cold on the floor of her cell; trapped in a deep and dreamless slumber. A few minutes after Quintus left, and she was still so overcome by unconsciousness that she failed to see the tiny stream of light which hit her cheek as the corridor light was once again switched on. The familiar metal clang of the lock being opened fell on deaf ears, and Lucilius's entrance was witnessed by no one. The sight of the comatose Scout sprawled on the ground would have been more than enough to make Lucilius's toothy grin reappear, however it was the sight of something else in the cell that had immediately brought the disgusting smile back.

The Plutonian Sphere.

After gingerly lifting the round object from the ground next to Charon, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself as he crept out again…


	14. Meanwhile, On Earth

13 - Meanwhile, on Earth…

The sun shone down on Tokyo as if it were any other afternoon. However for a certain group of people (and three cats) the warm weather didn't even raise a smile. Serena, Rei, Amy, Lita, Mina, Caliban, Luna, Artemis and Estrella all came out of Alexia's home slowly, each of them looking as solemn as the other.

"I'm glad Mirage's good at what she does." Lita remarked.

"At least we know that Alexia's parents aren't worrying about her absence." Amy sighed.

After Alexia's departure the night before the group had locked up the dance school (Caliban had agreed to return the keys and tell Ms. Yakamori that Alexia wasn't feeling too well); then gone to Florizel's ship to explain everything to Caliban. He had been distraught to hear about his father's condition and had apologised about a thousand times for letting Lucilius control him for so long and of course for everything he had done. Also, at the meeting, Mirage had volunteered to disguise herself as Alexia. She was now lying in Alexia's bed, pretending to be sick. Fortunately not only could she morph herself into looking like anyone or anything she liked but she could mimic any illness too. Caliban had been very quiet all the way through their visit to the shape-shifter; his grey eyes were troubled and anyone who looked at him could see how broken he was.

"You look exhausted, Caliban." Luna remarked. The prince looked at her and sighed.

"I couldn't sleep," he admitted. "I couldn't stop thinking about how I let her go…it should've been me… " his voice caught in his throat. Serena placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Stop beating yourself up," she advised. "Alexia would have gone no matter what we did, it's her nature."

"What's done is done, Caliban." Amy said wisely. "You should concentrate on the here and now, it's much more important."

"She's right, you know." Darien said as he joined them. "What's going on?"

"We've just been to check up on Mirage," Lita explained. "She's doing a great job. I just hope that we get the real Alexia back before Miaka and Alfredo start to get suspicious…"

"We _will _get her back soon," Mina suddenly blurted out. "We _have_ to! Or else…" she burst into tears. "Oh, Alexia!" she wailed as Serena wrapped her arms around her.

"It's alright to cry, Mina." she said soothingly, tears flashed in her own eyes as she closed them before any could escape. Soon Lita and Amy were also hugging the two blondes, and all Rei could do was stare; her head spinning with a mixture of sorrow and anger. Finally it all got too much for her, and there was only one thing she could do - turn and run away. She ran and ran from the group, holding back the tears fiercely.

"Rei! Don't hide your feelings!" Mina yelled after her, then sniffled. "I bet she's exhausted, she was trying to contact Alexia through telepathy all last night, but it was no use." The girls had all stayed at the temple the night before, comforting one another and collectively praying for their friend's safety.

"I heard her crying. You know how stubborn she can be, she just prefers to keep her feelings to herself." Amy said sadly. "I know she would never admit it but I am sure she misses Alexia more than any of us…" her eyes fell on Caliban. "Well, more than most of us, anyway…" the other girls and Darien nodded.

"Look guys, I need some time alone." Caliban spoke up, and they all noticed how weary he looked. "Shall we meet up again later?"

"Yes, the temple in three hours?" Luna suggested, they all nodded in agreement.

"Try and get some rest, okay?" Serena said kindly.

"I'll try. See you all later." the prince vanished.

"Poor guy, it finally looks like he and Alexia can be happy then this happens." Darien commented.

"Yeah," Serena sighed. "I can't help but feel slightly guilty because I have you right here…" she hugged the youth tightly. "I can remember how I felt when Queen Beryl captured you, and then when you lost all your memories, and…" she sobbed. "Poor, poor Caliban."

"It's so weird, going from hating to feeling bad for him." Lita remarked.

"Actually, right now I can't recall how much I disliked him before, his good heart has totally destroyed those feelings." Amy said; the group fell silent.

"I'm going to the temple, to keep Rei company." Estrella announced.

"I'll go with you, right now being alone is the last thing she needs." Amy picked up the ginger kitten and began to walk away.

"Bye, Amy, Estrella." Mina called, then quite unexpectedly began to cry again.

"Come on, let's get her inside." Lita instructed as she opened the gate to the distraught girl's house.

x x x x x

Meanwhile, thousands of miles above them, a small spaceship was orbiting the Earth. Inside were Florizel and Nerissa, working ceaselessly on the computers, trying to locate Lucilius's ship. As she worked Nerissa couldn't help but smile slightly.

"You know, in a few days' time we will be home and everything will be just right." she said out loud, rubbing her injured wrist.

"Ever the optimist, Nerissa." Florizel remarked, leaning back in his chair as he took a break from staring at the monitors before him. "I'm glad someone can look on the bright side."

"You mean, you can't?" she looked over at him for a moment, her fingers never leaving the keyboard.

"No, I'm sorry, I can't." he sighed, swivelling his seat around so he was facing away from the computer. "Caliban will refuse to go back until we rescue Sailor Charon, and at this rate it could take months to locate Lucilius. Even years perhaps."

"What did Caius say, by the way?" the orange-haired woman inquired, fighting the urge to laugh. She, just like Florizel, was very good at keeping secrets. _Now just to send out the signal…_she thought, pressing one last key then smiling with satisfaction _Florizel's going to be so annoyed that he didn't think about doing this himself!_

"He was overjoyed to hear about Caliban's return; however he was saddened to hear of Charon's sacrifice. He assured me that he will be praying for her safety."

"I see…" Nerissa commented, then went quiet for a moment. "Florizel, I can't help but worry about something…the project was on schedule before I left to go to Earth with Caliban; the deadline was today…" she said thoughtfully, a finger to her lips. "You do realise that the Scouts could be putting their lives in more danger than they expect," she looked at him with stern, green eyes. "Don't you?" Florizel turned away from her and shrugged.

"If they want to rescue their team mate then it is a risk they will have to take." Nerissa shook her head, even after all this time she still couldn't believe how harsh her colleague could be sometimes.

"Florizel, if Lucilius…" she exclaimed, her eyes wide.

"He won't, trust me." Florizel responded in an even tone. "Everything is fitting into place, Nerissa; even better than we had anticipated. Now all we have to do is track him down…" he turned back to his monitors and sighed. Nerissa's stony expression brightened as a beeping sound caught her attention.

"Already done." she announced, and Florizel look at her in confusion.

"Excuse me?" Nerissa grinned at him.

"I left Lucilius a little present while I was on the ship…" she explained. "The smallest tracking device in the universe." Florizel leapt out of his seat, walked over to where his partner was sat and peered at the small green dot Nerissa was pointing at on the Galactic Map before her.

"Have I ever told you what a genius you are?" he remarked, more as statement than question, as he kissed her on the top of her head.

"Not recently." Nerissa replied, her cheeks burning.

x x x x x

"She's exhausted, but she's not going to stop, is she?" Amy murmured to Estrella, who sighed as she walked out of the room and clambered into the girl's lap. They had been at the Hino Shrine for about an hour, sitting out in the sunshine while Rei was inside once again trying to get in touch with Alexia. First the Scout of Mercury and then ginger cat had been in to try and persuade her to stop, however she had just ignored them. Just as Estrella got herself comfortable she heard the door to Amy's back slide closed; it was clear - Rei did not want to be disturbed again.

"She's going to drive herself crazy if she doesn't." Estrella said worriedly. "Did you manage to get in touch with Mina?" Whilst the cat had been indoors with Rei Amy had decided to see how their other friend was getting on.

"Serena answered her communicator - she and Darien are still there comforting her."

"Oh, poor thing." Estrella sniffled and Amy tilted her head. At last it was too much for Estrella to take. "Oh, Amy, I've failed her!" she wept. Amy gently stroked her back.

"That's right Estrella, let it all out." she murmured soothingly as the cat continued to sob.

"I promised myself after she first became Sailor Charon that I would never leave her side again, yet I'm here and she's not! And I'm so tired but I can't bring myself to sleep knowing that she's out there with _him_…I mean, who _knows_ what's happening to her?!"

"Oh Estrella, not sleeping isn't going to help anyone! I wish we could've stopped her from going, we all do, but you know as well as I that once Alexia's mind's made up there's no going back." Amy said firmly. "Now, sleep. If anything happens I shall wake you up and inform you."

"You promise?" Estrella murmured, her eyes already clouding over from weariness.

"Yes, I promise." the Mercurian told her, and continued to run her fingers through the soft, thick orange fur on the kitten's back. Estrella's eyelids grew heavier by the second as she finally allowed herself to succumb to the exhaustion that she'd been trying to fight all day, until at last she could no longer keep them open. Amy watched her with fond eyes as she slipped further and further away from the conscious world. "That's it now sweetheart, I hope nothing but good dreams find you." she murmured. Suddenly she became aware of the clattering sound of the shrine bell and then footsteps, which grew louder along the wooden walkway as whoever it was got closer.

"Oh, hi Amy." It was Lita. "She looks so peaceful." she remarked, gazing at Estrella. "How is she?"

"Not good, she's been too worried to sleep; she was totally worn out, poor thing." Amy responded. "How are you?"

"I'm okay, I guess. I just said a prayer for Ale…" her voice trailed off and her eyes narrowed angrily. "She's such a fool, causing us all to worry like this! Does she seriously think he's going to let her go alive?"

"Shhh…" Amy hushed her, concerned that Estrella may stir from her slumber.

"Where's Rei?" the Scout of Jupiter decided she should change the subject. Her blue-haired friend sighed and turned to look at the sliding door behind her. One could just make out the orange-red glow of the fire within through the paper.

"She's been in there since we got back from the Risoltos'." she informed her.

"Still no luck contacting Alexia then." Lita's green eyes dropped to look at the ground as she spoke, a downcast expression on her face. However at the same time she was shuffling slightly from one foot to the other, as if she were desperately wanting to say something but at the same time not.

"Lita? Would you like to talk about something?" the Mercurian inquired, and her friend nodded quickly. Carefully lifting Estrella into her arms, Amy placed her down in a patch of sunlight which hit the wooden walkway and then stood up. The two girls walked at a steady pace towards the steps which led up to the shrine in silence; Lita's face thoughtful as she tried to come up with the right words to express what she wanted to tell her friend.

"You were right!" was all she managed to think of in the end, and Amy's blue eyes looked curiously at her.

"Pardon?" she responded in her polite manner.

"I said, you were right! About why I was so angry at Alexia." The brunette let out a loud sigh and sat down on the topmost step, her chin resting in her hands. "I was just too damn proud to admit it, plus it was totally pathetic of me." Amy simply nodded understandingly, sat down, and waited for her to continue. "It's just not fair! Serena has Darien, you have Fargo-" Amy almost choked.

"Excuse me?!" she squeaked. "I do _not_ 'have' Fargo, as you put it! There is nothing between us!" she felt her cheeks start to burn as Lita waved her hand dismissively.

"Sure, sure, whatever you wanna believe, Aims. Anyway, I just hoped that maybe _I'd _be the next one to have some luck and have some handsome prince or knight or whatever come along and sweep me off my feet. But no, it has to be the newcomer! It ain't easy being me, y'know? Guys are too scared to ask me out on dates because of the stupid rumours that go around school."

"But Lita, you _do_ have a rather…overwhelming personality." Amy pointed out, hoping she wouldn't offend her.

"Aren't guys supposed to _like_ tough chicks?!" Lita leapt to her feet and exclaimed loudly, either choosing to ignore the last comment or not hearing it at all. Finally she sighed dismally, sat back down and rested her chin back in her hands. "All I want is a bit of romance, is that too much to ask for?"

"Not at all, Lita." Amy told her comfortingly. "I'm sure you'll find the right person soon enough."

"God, I sure hope so." the brunette looked at Amy. "Anyway, that's enough of that. Let's go check on Rei and Estrella."

"Good idea." the Mercurian agreed and with that the two girls helped each other up and walked back towards the temple.

When they got back to where they left Estrella they found she wasn't alone. Nerissa was sat beside her, just observing the cat as she slept. She stood up slowly, holding onto her injured side, as she saw the two girls approaching.

"Greetings, Lita, Amy." she said quietly out of respect for Estrella.

"Nerissa!" Amy exclaimed just as softly. "What are you doing here?" the smile on the Reimo Guardian's lips broadened.

"I guessed that one of you would be here, although I could not find Rei. I have some good news for you." she announced. "We have located Lucilius's ship."

"What?!" Lita remarked in amazement. "That's not good news - that's fantastic news! I'll contact the others and tell them!" she pressed a button on her communicator and began to speak into it excitedly. Amy looked down at the peacefully sleeping cat.

"I feel terrible, but I just can't bring myself to wake her up." she commented guiltily.

Ignorant to the excitement outside, Rei stood up. She had finally given up on contacting Alexia telepathically. She wiped her brow and sighed as she looked into a mirror at herself - there were shadows under her eyes and her face was pale. Just like Estrella she hadn't slept at all the night before, choosing to either try and contact Alexia or to cry as terrible thoughts of what Lucilius might be doing to her friend haunted her. She had also felt sure that wherever Alexia was she wouldn't be asleep, and so felt that if she stayed awake too then the girl wouldn't be alone.

There was one more reason why she couldn't sleep.

Sailor Charon's final words, delivered telepathically as she'd ran up the steps to Lucilius, had not left her since she'd first heard them in her mind:

_Rei, I know I lied to you, and it hurt me as soon I realised I'd done it. I forgive you for ignoring me today, I just hope that you can forgive me too. I shall always consider you my best friend, no matter what._

She shuddered, and tears sprung to her eyes as a feeling of pain and misery swept over her body - could it be a sign of what Alexia was feeling at that moment?

"Alexia…" she whispered. "I'm sorry - sorry for hitting you; sorry for not talking to you; sorry for not saying sorry when I had the chance! And I forgive you for lying, I understand why you did it! I want so much to see you, to tell you face to face how I feel and that you'll always be my best friend!" She sat down and sobbed hard, finally letting the pent-up feelings within herself go. As she cried Amy ran in.

"Rei! Re…" she froze as the black-haired girl turned her head quickly, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Oh Rei," Amy smiled sympathetically as knelt to help the girl to her feet. "Everything is going to be fine."

"How can you be so upbeat all of a sudden?" the Martian muttered. Amy looked her in the eye and handed her a tissue which she happened to be carrying in her jacket pocket.

"Nerissa's here, they've found her." Rei took a step back, her eyes wide.

"What? You mean…?" Amy nodded. "They've found Alexia?" she exclaimed. Her friend nodded again. "I can't believe it, this is great!" she cried out joyfully.

"I've been in touch with the others, they're on their way." Amy informed her. "We're going to get her back!" Rei began to run out to see Nerissa when she suddenly stopped and grabbed hold of the doorframe, steadying herself. "Rei?"

"I…feel faint…" she murmured, and slumped to the ground.

"Rei!" Amy exclaimed loudly. Estrella, who had been woken up and informed of the news by Lita, ran in.

"What's happened?!" she asked.

"I don't know, I think she's gone into some kind of trance…" Amy murmured as she leant over the girl, whose eyes could be seen to be moving rapidly under her eyelids…

x x x x x

Caliban sighed for about the hundredth time that day, gazing sadly at the Charonian Ice Blossom, which was in his hand, as he lay on his bed. He inhaled its scent and closed his eyes.

"My Princess," he whispered into its petals. "Please be strong, don't let him break you down. I don't want to lose you again, I love you." He couldn't recall any other time when he'd felt so lost. He had allowed the one person in the universe who gave him a reason to continue to live to run into the arms of her mortal enemy. Instead of dragging her back and going himself, as he should have done, he'd kissed her then watched her climb the stairs to the spaceship. Now that he had been accepted by the Scouts, the cats and Tuxedo Mask (whom of course he now knew was Darien) all he wanted to do was be with Alexia and be completely happy, like he'd been in the Moon Kingdom when he'd first met Charon and the other princesses. Those days had been wonderful…

He carefully placed the flower back in the glass box he kept it in and continued to look at it. Its colour reminded him of Alexia's eyes - so cold in colour, yet somehow so warm - and so his desire to see her grew. "My Princess, my beloved Alexia, my beautiful Charon…" he said, his voice barely audible as a tear escaped from his eyes and rolled freely down his cheek. It didn't matter which name he used - they all belonged to her and were all equally perfect. More tears fell, but he didn't care - he was miserable; miserable, lost and afraid of what Lucilius was doing to Charon right at that moment.

He jumped off the bed after wiping his eyes, no longer able to stand just lying there doing nothing. He was contemplating leaving Earth to search for Lucilius himself when the ship's computer bleeped. Sitting down in the large swivelling chair in front of the console he pressed a button and Florizel appeared onscreen looking very pleased with himself.

"Why are you so happy?" Caliban muttered. Florizel continued to smile rather smugly as he spoke, without answering the prince's question.

"You must go to the temple now to meet the Sailor Scouts and Nerissa," the Royal Adviser informed. "I shall be there shortly."

"Why?" the blonde asked suspiciously.

"Well, you _are_ going to rescue Sailor Charon, aren't you?" Caliban leapt up, joy quickly breaking through his melancholy like the sun through dark storm clouds.

"You've found her?" he exclaimed, his eyes bright.

"See you in a while, Your Highness." Florizel simply said as the screen went black.

x x x x x

…Rei opened her eyes, and found herself in a black room - black walls, black floor. Light seemed to radiate from her own body as she shuddered rather violently. She knew straight away that this place was one full of evil, a place where many a person had suffered and died alone. She screwed her eyes closed as she attempted to escape from this room, where she alone could hear the sobs and cries of agony of those who had gone before.

It was then that she felt something resting on the top of her legs, and realised she wasn't alone.

She looked down - and found Alexia there, lying on her back, her head in the black-haired girl's lap. Rei's heart leapt with joy, the evil she had felt forgotten in an instant - she'd finally got in touch with her!! Alexia seemed to be sleeping, a peaceful look on her face. An expression of relief crossed Rei's face as she only noticed very slight scratches on her companion's face, and she felt glad she was only seeing her through her mind. Physical injuries didn't show up in the mind, the scratches on Alexia's face were mental injuries and were fortunately extremely minor. It seemed she was holding up well psychologically…

"Alexia…Alexia?" She whispered her friend's name gently, she really didn't want to disturb her but she had no choice. Alexia's pale blue eyes flickered open and as she looked up she looked awestruck.

"Rei…" she murmured. "Are you really here?" Rei began to softly stroke her friend's fringe out of her eyes, avoid touching the scratches on her forehead.

"No, I'm sorry, I'm not." she told her. "I've been trying to contact you since you left, and now I'm so glad I finally have."

"I've been trying too, and I'm also glad." Alexia smiled rather weakly, however Rei could see how much she meant what she was saying from her eyes. The Martian cringed inwardly as she once again could hear the voices of tortured souls.

"How are you?" she finally asked. "I'm worried about you, this place frightens me - I keep sensing pain and suffering here." Alexia nodded, her eyes wide.

"Rei, I'm scared." she whispered, her voice trembling. She took hold of her friend's hand and Rei allowed her to hold onto it tightly.

"What of?" her stomach turned as she saw the panic in Alexia's face, and that the scratches were becoming more prominent. Her mind was obviously weakening quickly from fear and exhaustion.

"Of never seeing any of you again, of what Lucilius might do to you all…" the Charonian's voice dropped to a whisper. "But most of all fear that I am going to go insane…"

"No!" Rei said sharply. "Do not speak like that!" she felt her heart sink into her stomach as she saw the immense fear in Alexia's pale eyes.

"I'm sorry, it's just it's so difficult…Lucilius isn't being exactly nice to me…" Rei quickly placed a finger to her friend's lips, she couldn't bear to hear Alexia go on.

"Shhh, listen. We're coming for you, so don't be afraid." she said quietly.

"We? All you Scouts?" Alexia said nervously. It was Rei's turn to nod. "No, I don't want you guys in any danger. Leave me."

"Never Alexia, you're part of the team." Rei said firmly. "I'm not going to let you go, neither are the others…especially Caliban."

"Caliban is coming too?" the girl inquired, and Rei nodded again. "You guys… you're just too good to me." the Charonian sighed, defeated. "I guess I have no say in this, so I have all my faith in you."

"Thank you Alexia, just hold on for a little while longer." Alexia sat up and they hugged. "Be strong, we love and trust you. - _all_ of us."

"Thank _you_, Rei." she whispered back, and then her eyebrows raised slightly, as if she recalled something. "Did you get my other message, the one I sent you before I got on the ship?" Rei couldn't help but smile as she remembered her friend's words to her.

Then, she suddenly heard another voice -

"Rei wake up!" it was Amy. She was being brought back to consciousness.

"Yes, I did." she spoke as quickly as she could, as she could feel herself waking up. "I wanted to tell you how sorry I was but…" her voice was getting quieter and quieter, and she felt Alexia's grip loosen as she started to melt into the darkness. Knowing there was nothing more she could do Rei just hoped the next time she saw Alexia she would still be alive…

"She's coming round!"

"Rei, are you feeling okay?" Serena asked gently as Rei sat up. The others had arrived fast as soon as the news had been spread.

"Yeah, fine," she got to her feet with the help of Lita and Caliban. "I…got in touch with Alexia…"

"You did?" Mina pushed past Lita and grabbed Rei's shoulders. "How is she? Is she safe?" Amy intervened quickly.

"Calm down Mina, give Rei time to collect her thoughts." Mina stepped back.

"I'm not going to lie to you about this," the raven-haired psychic began, "She's scared about never seeing us again; Lucilius is giving her a hard time, I think he might've hurt her badly…" the group began to talk all at once. "But," she raised her hands "I told her we're coming to get her. She's not happy about it because she feels she's putting us at risk but she says she has all her faith in us."

"Poor, poor Alexia." Nerissa murmured sadly.

"We can't wait around any longer - we've gotta get her outta there!" Lita declared, slamming her fist into her other hand. Mina nodded.

"If we wait around any longer we could be too late…"

"Mercury Star Power - Make Up!"

"Mars Star Power - Make Up!"

"Jupiter Star Power - Make Up!"

"Venus Star Power - Make Up!"

"Moon Crystal Power - Make Up!"

Caliban watched in silence as the girls transformed into the Sailor Scouts. His stomach was slightly queasy with nerves as he thought about having to board Lucilius's ship again…Sailor Moon walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Everything will be alright, Caliban." she smiled reassuringly. "Don't ask me how I know, I just have this feeling deep within my heart." he smiled back.

"I just hope you're right, Sailor Moon."

Nerissa was biting her lower lip as she looked at the group. She recalled her earlier conversation with Florizel and her anxiety over Lucilius's 'project' returned. She came to a firm conclusion in her mind - she couldn't send them onto Lucilius's ship without warning them what they may be facing.

"There's something I need to tell you - something Florizel and I ought to have told you right from the start." She suddenly spoke out, unable to look at any of their faces. "Apart from the Aathean Bottles…there was a second gift."

"What was it?" Caliban inquired on behalf of them all.

"Blueprints," she responded, still looking away. "Blueprints to a machine…"

"What type of machine?" Jupiter asked suspiciously.

"A machine that will reverse the spell you put him under all those centuries ago." She felt so ashamed - how could they have been so foolish as to even _invent_ such a terrible contraption - let alone hand the blueprints to Lucilius? Yet Florizel was still confident that the machine would never get used…why? What was going to happen before then?

"WHAT?!" Luna spluttered, her eyes burning furiously at the news. "And you _gave_ them to _him_?! Are you crazy?!" Mercury politely raised her hand.

"I am sorry, but if you don't mind me asking…how does this machine work exactly?" Nerissa looked at the blue-haired girl and was about to speak again when:

"It is quite an interesting process," Florizel walked in; the woman cringed - he must have overheard the whole thing. "Apart from the machine itself two things are needed to make the spell-reversal happen. Firstly, a special powder is needed, which you Sailor Scouts must become covered in order to for the machine to work. The powder would lie dormant in your systems, until a lever on the machine is pulled."

"Then what would happen?" Mars questioned.

"Then the dust will charge itself using your Planet Power and then suck it out of you." Nerissa answered. "That's when the second item comes into play."

"That second item is a medium, which all the Planet Power collects and combines." Florizel spoke again. "That medium is the Plutonian Sphere."

"So _that's_ what Lucilius wants with Charon." Caliban remarked quietly, understanding at last and now being struck with terror at the thought of how desperate Lucilius must be to get hold of the Sphere.

"And now he's got Alexia…" Mercury murmured. "So there's nothing stopping him from using the machine…right?"

"But I don't remember getting covered in any powder…" Sailor Moon remarked. Florizel smiled knowingly.

"Even if you were to come into contact with the powder, it wouldn't matter." he smiled. "You see, and even Nerissa doesn't know this, when our engineers developed the machine we made sure that the settings on the blueprints were incorrect…and so when Lucilius attempts to use it all that will happen is - absolutely nothing." Florizel concluded.

"How come you didn't tell me about this!" Nerissa complained; however, Florizel continued to speak:

"And now that matter is out of the way…are you ready for your mission?"

"Yes, we are!" Venus declared.

"What is our strategy?" Mercury inquired.

"Myself and Nerissa will accompany you Scouts and Caliban to where Lucilius's ship is, and once we are in range you can teleport over, the rest is up to you." Florizel explained.

"I wish I could come with you." Nerissa remarked, looking down at her heavily bandaged wrist

"It's okay, Nerissa," Venus smiled reassuringly. "You just concentrate on getting better."

"Oh, Darien wanted me to tell you he's really sorry but he can't get out of work," Serena announced. "He's going to come here as soon as he's finished."

"Okay, so let's sort this out now - once we get on the ship I think we should split into two teams," Jupiter announced, taking charge. "I think three of us should try and find Charon while the others locate Lucilius and confront him."

"Good idea, Jupiter - I believe myself and Mars should try and find Charon," Sailor Mercury spoke up. "I can use my computer to pin-point her energy and Mars can use their telepathic bond."

"That sounds good to me," Jupiter agreed. "I wanna go after Lucilius and I think it'd be best if you came with me, Sailor Moon." The blonde nodded, slightly nervous about the idea but at the same time looking forward to being able to tell Lucilius exactly what she thought of him. She looked at Caliban, who looked like he knew exactly what he wanted to do.

"Caliban - do you want to go with Mercury and Mars?" She inquired and he looked at her grave eyes.

"No." He responded firmly. "As much as I want to find Charon - I need to confront Lucilius." He explained. "So I'll go with you and Sailor Jupiter."

"Alright, so, Venus, you're with us." Mars concluded.

"Okay, let's go rescue our friend!" Sailor Moon declared loudly, punching the air with her hand.

"Good luck, we'll be waiting here for you!" Luna called.

"Tell Charon we all love her!" Estrella said.

"We'll be praying for your quick return." Artemis added.

Suddenly, a voice spoke up.

"Not so fast."

The entire group turned to face Quintus and ugly looking creature. It was a mixture between a giant bird, some kind of lizard and a human. It was fiery red with massive black horns and claws and bright yellow eyes.

"Quintus!" Caliban exclaimed angrily.

"Lydria." Florizel said, looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Oh my…!" Nerissa gasped as she stared at the beast. "How did…?!"

"I must have got the Aathean Bottles mixed up somehow…" He muttered in reply.

"What's wrong?" Sailor Venus asked in confusion, her gaze switching between the old man and the beast and Florizel.

"Lydria is a fire beast from Zai, the fourth moon of Reimo, and one of our better warriors - Lucilius should not have received the Bottle with him in." The Royal Adviser told them.

"I hope you weren't planning on going anywhere." the usually docile Quintus said nastily. He was determined that he was going to succeed in stopping the group from boarding Florizel's ship. He would earn the praise of his master this time…

"It's no good, we're gonna have to fight, we have no other choice." Sailor Moon murmured. "Just hold on Charon…"


	15. Power of the Spirit

14 - Power of the Spirit.

Alexia looked up from the beautiful ivory and gold tutu she was wearing to gaze out at the expectant crowd before her, nervously hoping they were going to enjoy her performance.

_It's so strange how I can never see anyone's face when I'm up here. _She thought to herself, her blue eyes slowly making their way along the blurred faces of the people filling the auditorium. _I wonder where mom and dad are sitting? _She had no more time to search as the orchestra struck up. The sweet melody of the flute filled the dancer's mind with relaxed thoughts and she felt as if she were dancing on air. She kept her eyes closed, concentrating on every step and turn she made, until she felt a pair of hands touch her lightly on the waist. Looking behind her Alexia smiled as she saw Caliban there. As the strings section swelled with emotion the prince lifted his partner high above his head with the greatest of ease. Then they danced together, reflecting their love for one another in every movement they made, until the slow, emotional music suddenly picked up tempo and became whimsical. The crowd's laughter filled the hall and the two dancers turned to face a third - a small boy in a black and silver leotard (a stark contrast to Caliban's, which was white and gold) and a clown's mask. He was leaping about in a comical fashion, making his way toward Caliban and Alexia. When he reached them he pulled off the mask and grinned.

It was Lucilius.

However, instead of running off the stage in sheer terror Alexia found herself falling backwards into Caliban's arms in a mock swoon; the audience laughed again. Setting Alexia back on her feet Caliban linked his arm through hers whilst Lucilius took hold of the girl's other hand. The Charonian felt baffled by it all as they continued to dance amidst the roaring laughter.

_I want to stop - but my feet won't let me!_ Alexia suddenly realised as the trio started to spin quickly.

She also noticed how Lucilius's hand seemed to be getting bigger by the second…

Finally they stopped spinning and the audience broke into rapturous applause. Alexia turned her head to look down at Lucilius and to her surprise found herself gazing at a pair of legs. Allowing her eyes to slowly drift upwards the girl discovered why the audience was clapping so loudly.

Lucilius had grown up!

She was just about to open her mouth to speak when the music started again . This time a rousing fanfare blared out from the brass section - and Florizel swung in on a rope! Caliban grabbed Alexia's shoulders and pulled her to the back of the stage whilst the newcomer and Lucilius circled each other threateningly before pretending to draw swords and fight! All of a sudden Alexia felt very hot under the stage lights and gripped Caliban's arm tightly in order to hold herself up. Before long another person swung in, showering the crowd with red rose petals as he did - Tuxedo Mask?! He too drew an imaginary sword and fought alongside Florizel. The music was getting louder and faster, and the lights were now starting to hurt Alexia's eyes as she regarded the melee almost as if she were in a hypnotic trance.

By the time the Sailor Scouts arrived on stage she felt too numb to even try and act surprised. The Scouts were wearing tutus that looked like their uniforms and Venus was carrying a golden rope, one end of which she threw to Lucilius, who caught it. The blonde Scout then skipped around and around him until he was completely wrapped up. Next Mercury spun and leapt past him, covering him in white confetti which caused Lucilius to pretend to shiver violently. Next Mars did the same with orange confetti (he pretended to be hot) and then Jupiter tapped him on the shoulder with a piece of wood shaped like a lightning bolt and pyrotechnic sparks shot up from the sides of the stage, causing the audience to gasp in awe. Lucilius fell to his knees, acting scared as Sailor Moon gracefully danced, swinging her sceptre around. Finally she pointed it at him and he keeled over. The audience cheered.

Alexia was moving dazedly to centre stage, not really sure what she was going to do, when a hand grabbed hold of her left wrist - it was Sailor Mars. A cymbal crashed, causing Alexia's ears to ring, then a timpani started a rumbling drum roll as Caliban took hold of her right wrist and tried to pull her away from the black-haired Scout. However Mars simply pulled back and soon Alexia felt like the rope in a tug o' war. Sailor Venus grabbed Mars by the waist, then Sailor Moon grabbed Venus's, then Mercury grabbed hers, then Jupiter joined in too. The orchestra crashed discordantly, like each instrument was playing its own wild tune. Alexia felt queasy and she felt sure that her arms were going to be pulled from their sockets as Caliban and the Scouts continued to pull her this way and that. The lights were burning so brightly that she could no longer keep her eyes open.

Then, she snapped.

"STOOOOOOOOP!" she cried out, and her wrists were suddenly free again.

Silence.

She opened her eyes to find herself in darkness.

No lights, no stage, no tutu, no music…

No one.

Sailor Charon was stood alone in the middle of her cell, her arms and legs spread wide.

She sat down hard.

Had she been dancing in her sleep?

x x x x x

The Scouts stood in fighting stance before Quintus and Lydria.

"Be careful, Scouts, Lydria is formidable!" Florizel called to them.

"Don't worry - we'll beat him, we _have_ to!" Venus called.

"How _dare_ you attempt to stop us from rescuing our friend!" Sailor Moon scolded. "Well, your attempts will not succeed! I am Sailor Moon, champion of love and justice - and you're moon dust!" Quintus laughed spitefully.

"Empty threats from a foolish child." he said. "Lydria - attack!"

The fire beast leapt into the air and hovered above them, flapping his wings. Then suddenly he swooped down, causing the Scouts to scatter. It let out an almighty screech and flew at high speed back into the sky. Its wings began to flap more fiercely, causing a huge blast of air to whip up a storm of dust from the ground. The group began to cough and splutter and that was when Quintus saw his chance. Whilst the Scouts, Caliban, Florizel and Nerissa were protecting their faces from the dirt he drew a handful of silver-blue powder out of the small leather bag that Lucilius had given him. He threw the powder into the strong blast of air, causing it to travel in the air towards the Scouts. As soon as it touched them it sunk into their skin and clothes, however as they had their arms up to their faces they never noticed.

"Mercury Bubbles!" Sailor Mercury somehow managed to fight against the Lydria-made wind in order to attack; the cold bubbles were enough to push back the blast and Lydria almost fell out of the sky as the icy mist hit him. Letting out an angry cry the creature brought his left wing across his body then flung it back again, firing the feathers from it as he dropped to the ground. One of the feathers hit Jupiter on the leg; she fell to the ground rubbing the red patch it had left on her skin.

"Watch out, guys, they're hot!" she called. Mars swiftly dodged another one and stopped dead, her dark eyes narrow.

"Nothing's gonna stop me from seeing my best friend again!" she yelled. Sailors Moon and Venus joined her quickly.

"I think it's about time we showed this Lydria the true power of friendship!" Sailor Moon announced, pulling her tiara from her forehead.

"Yeah!" Venus agreed.

"Let's do it!" Sailor Jupiter stepped over to them as well.

"Moon Tiara…"

"Venus Crescent Beam…"

"Mars Celestial Fire…"

"Sparking Wide…"

"Magic!"

"Smash!"

"Surround!"

"Pressure!"

The attacks of Mars, Venus and Jupiter combined with the tiara-discus, which Lydria simply knocked away as if it were a plastic Frisbee. The four Scouts looked shocked.

"Our attacks are useless!" they called, their opponent laughing harshly.

x x x x x

Charon let out a low groan as she dragged her weary body along the hard floor to lean against the wall opposite to the door. Every inch of her was aching and weary and if she had actually been able to see anything she would have realised that her vision was blurred. Not long after she had woken from her dream she had been dragged out of her cell again and forced to walk right around the ship. Anytime she had stumbled she had been prodded hard with a wooden staff which one of the guards surrounding her was carrying. Whenever her legs completely gave way she was simply left to crawl, causing her already grazed knees to burn. During their little 'tour' of the ship something rather odd had happened too, she had been getting back to her feet and had been covered in a storm of dust…

She leant her aching head back and carefully opened her eyes, choosing to recall her time with Rei instead of this strange event - the Scouts were coming for her!

"Idiots, they should keep away." she muttered to herself. "It's enough that one of us is trapped here without them risking their necks over me." She didn't mean it, the thought that her friends were coming filled her with hope - there were 5 of them, plus Caliban - they would have no problem getting her out of there, she was sure of it.

Still, if there was a way she could escape by herself before they arrived…

Suddenly it all flooded back to her - before she'd blacked out, hadn't she summoned the Plutonian Sphere?

Her eyes strained to see through the thick blackness to the place where she'd dropped the Plutonian Sphere…Or at least where she _thought_ she'd dropped it…

It was gone.

"No…" she murmured, panic raising within her. "Where is it…?" in a burst of energy she leapt up and looked around her, before falling again. "No…" she whispered, breaking down again. "Damn you, Charon, it's all your fault for blacking out!" What could she do now? Only one thing, wait for the guards to come back and find the power from somewhere to attack them…

She _had_ to, it was the only way…

With that, she closed her eyes again and concentrated on trying to collect what little energy she had left.

x x x x x

Meanwhile the fight on Earth was hotting up. Lydria had used all his wing feathers, and so was now stalking around the group on all fours, eyes burning wildly as it waited for the best moment to strike. Caliban took a step forward, his sword drawn and ready. Lydria rose onto his back legs and let out a roar as he charged the prince, who, thanks to his many dance lessons, simply spun out of the way. The beast fell back down onto all fours, snarling as he turned sharply to face Caliban again just as the youth sent a ball of energy from the tip of his sword. Lydria shook his head as the ball hit him but simply fizzled out upon contact.

"All I can do is tire him out!" he yelled at the Scouts. "My attacks are not effective against fire!" Mercury once again stepped forward.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!" her ice attack hit Lydria's body, but melted. It called out with rage and turned to face the Scout. It charged towards her at full speed and knocked her to the ground with a cry.

"Sailor Mercury!" the others yelled.

"Reimo Power - Transform!" Came a cry from nearby, and the Scouts turned just in time to see Nerissa transform into Reimo Guardian.

"But you're injured!" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed.

"I know, but you need my help!" she responded, aiming her staff at Lydria. "Glittering Ice!" A barrage of small, white stars shot out from the end of the staff and struck the opponent full on. Lydria let out an almighty pain-filled shriek. "My attack is more effective than Mercury's simply because Zai is the Fire Moon of Reimo," she explained as she fired more of the freezing stars, "and I'm from the _Ice_ Moon - Glazos! We're exact opposites!"

"Now!" Caliban yelled, powering up another ball of pale blue energy at the tip of his sword. "Everyone attack!"

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!"

"Jupiter Thunder!"

"Mars Fire Ignite!"

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

All five attacks hit Lydria and he screamed out in pain.

"Finish it, Sailor Moon!" Nerissa ordered over the shrieks.

"Right!" The leader of the Sailor Scouts drew out the sceptre and swung it around her head and body.

"Moon Sceptre Activation!"

Lydria let out a final ear-piercing scream, before disintegrating into dust. "Now for the nasty old man!" She swung around, and pointed her sceptre to where Quintus had been.

"Damn." Caliban cursed; Venus walked over to him.

"It's alright, we can get him later. Right now we've gotta go rescue Charon!" Caliban smiled.

"Yeah, you're right."

"Let's go!" Sailor Mars ran towards the ship. "We can't waste anymore time!" as she boarded she thought:

_Don't worry Charon, we're on our way_…

x x x x x

A few minutes later, and Caliban was stood at a window in Florizel's ship, looking out at the space that was rushing past them at high speed.

"Oh Charon," he sighed out loud. "Please hold on, just a few minutes longer…"

"Caliban," Sailor Mars walked up to him, her dark eyes full of sympathy and understanding. "I know how worried you are about her, we all feel the same." She stood next to him, looking out at how the stars seemed to stretch on forever in the darkness. "I can't stop thinking about the look of fear in her eyes when I contacted her…" she let out a shaky breath as she thought about it. "I can't wait to see her again." Her eyes narrowed as she regarded the purple ship that was increasing in size quickly as they drew nearer. "We're here." She announced, turning back to the others. Sailor Moon managed to flash a reassuring smile at the rest of her team.

"Are you all ready?" she asked. The other Scouts and Caliban nodded. Nerissa stood close by, her hands clasped as if she were praying.

"Time to teleport." Sailor Mercury said, taking hold of Jupiter's hand. They formed a circle, including Caliban, immediately.

"Planet Power - Teleport!" The girls called, and disappeared in a flash of rainbow-coloured light.

"Good luck, Sailor Scouts." Nerissa murmured, allowing her hands to drop to her sides. Florizel took one in his own, squeezing it comfortingly.

"They'll be fine." he said confidently. "Let us just hope that Charon is…"

x x x x x

"My lord, they're here." Quintus cringed lower than ever, awaiting his master's wrath for failing his mission.

"Very well," came the unexpected response. Lucilius was sat on his throne, looking surprisingly calm. He looked down at the cowering Quintus. "Oh, I never did congratulate you, Quintus, on a job well done." the old man looked up, confused.

"What do you mean, master? The Sailor Scouts defeated me…" Lucilius lifted a hand.

"No, no, they didn't," he smiled. "You just wait and see…"

x x x x x

"The coast is clear. Let's split into our teams and get moving." Mercury said quickly, activating her VR visor and starting to tap on the keys of her hand-held computer.

"Okay, good luck!" Sailor Moon said to Mars, Venus and Mercury.

"You too!" Venus said as they began to run down a corridor.

"I'm trying to locate Charon's Planet Power," Mercury told them, continuing to tap away. "I believe I have found it, but it is a very weak reading."

"I've found her," Sailor Mars announced. "I can sense her nearby!"

The three Scouts continued to charge down the corridors, until they reached a darkened one. Mercury pressed a few more keys on her computer, then pressed a series of buttons on a wall.

"And let there be light!" She announced as the lights switched on. Venus and Mars ran forward.

"This cell here!" Mars and Mercury both exclaimed at the same time. Mercury consulted her computer again and worked out the combination.

"12, 42, 36, 84." she said to Venus, who tapped the numbers into the keypad on the door. There was a metallic clang, then the door swung open…

Sailor Charon, who was still leaning against the wall, opened her eyes as soon as she heard the footsteps in the hallway. She heard the muffled voices on the other side of the door and prepared herself…

The first thing Venus, Mercury and Mars saw was their friend stood on her feet.

The first thing Charon saw, as her vision was blurred, were three indistinguishable figures.

"Charon Psy-"

"She's going to attack us!" Venus exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise.

"Waaa…uuuuhhhh…" the green-haired Scout's pale eyes rolled back as her energy failed her and she promptly fainted.

"Sailor Charon!!" all three of the Scouts exclaimed, running to her.

"Is she okay?" Mars exclaimed as Mercury checked their team mate over.

"Just exhausted." the blue-haired Scout reassured. "We'll have to carry her." Venus and Mars took a leg and an arm each and lifted the unconscious girl in a sitting position.

"Right, let's go find the others." Mercury announced, leaving the room ahead of them.

x x x x x

While this was happening the Scouts of the Moon and Jupiter were going in the opposite direction, Caliban leading the way.

"This way!" He called over his shoulder as they ran up a corridor, whilst he noticed was strangely void of guards. "We're almost there!"

They reached a door, which slid open to reveal a beautifully decorated corridor on the other side; one wall of which was entirely made of windows. Caliban felt a tremor of nerves and excitement go down his back as he faced the double doors, which led to the throne room.

"Here we go." Sailor Jupiter took a deep breath, before running forward and pushing the doors open, causing them to crash against the walls on the other side. The trio then marched up to where Lucilius was sat, a ridiculous smirk on his face.

"Welcome, Sailor Moon, Sailor Jupiter, Caliban." he said rather too hospitably. "What a _pleasant_ surprise this is! If I'd known to expect company I would have had the chef prepare a feast!" He sighed and shook his head, which he had lowered. "Anyway, I suppose you are here to see your dear friend, rather than yours truly." he lifted his head, showing the wicked grin he was wearing. "Well, I am afraid that she is…unavailable for appointments…at the moment." It took all the willpower Caliban had to stop him from rushing forward and dragging the smirking Lucilius from his throne by his throat.

"What have you done to her? Where is she?" He demanded loudly, taking a step forward.

"Right here!"

They all turned to face Mercury, Venus and Mars, the latter of whom were still carrying the out cold Charon.

"Charon!" Sailors Moon and Jupiter exclaimed, and ran to join their friends, forgetting where they were for the moment.

"Is she alright?" Sailor Moon asked gently.

"Just overcome with exhaustion, I think." Mercury informed them.

"Urgh, so you finally arrived." Charon groaned, opening her eyes. "Put me down, guys, I'll be okay." she murmured. The Scouts of Mars and Venus complied, and placed the worn-out girl on the floor. She stood rather shakily, reaching out for Mars's arm, before getting her balance.

Caliban, finally taking his narrowed eyes off Lucilius, walked up to her and took hold of her hands.

"What has he done to you…?" He murmured, regarding her pale, injured face.

"Oh, hey, Caliban," the green-haired girl said, very obviously still half-asleep and disoriented. She fell into his arms. "I missed you."

"Enough of this reconciliation!" Lucilius suddenly yelled, angry about the lack of attention he was getting. "Now you are all here it is time we got down to business."

He pressed a button on his throne and the floor began to shake. The Scouts and Caliban tried to keep their balance as the floor slid open in front of them, and a huge machine came up from the hole. It was a strange looking contraption, and in the centre held between two claws was -

"The Plutonian Sphere!" Charon suddenly yelled, waking up suddenly. Lucilius laughed as he got up and walked over to the machine.

"Beautiful, isn't it? My most wondrous creation." he walked around it, looking proud. "This little thing will change everything."

"It isn't your creation - we know where you got the blueprints from!" Venus announced, her blue eyes narrow.

"Guys…what is it? Where are the blueprints from…?" Charon murmured nervously, still in Caliban's arms.

_It's okay, Charon, I promise you._

It took the girl a moment to realise that she wasn't imagining the voice in her head; she still hadn't come to terms with her telepathic bond to Sailor Mars. She looked over at her raven-haired best friend, who smiled reassuringly at her.

"Well," he smiled. "Since you know about the blueprints I'm sure you know how it works…" He chuckled to himself as he gazed at them. "And so, my dear Sailor Scouts, tonight shall be the night that I return to my full glory!" he let out a loud, rather maniacal, laugh.

"And how exactly will this be accomplished, when you have failed to place us in contact with the special powder we know you need to obtain our Planet Power?" Mercury inquired; Lucilius continued to smile broadly as he explained:

"Ahhh, that is where you are wrong, Sailor Mercury." Almost as if on cue, Quintus shuffled into the room. "You see, while you were fighting Lydria, Quintus covered you in that very powder, and it is now lying dormant in your systems." He started to laugh again.

"But what about Charon? She wasn't with us." Jupiter pointed out.

"He got me too…" Sailor Charon announced quietly, remembering the cloud of dust she'd walked through earlier.

"So, care for a demonstration?" Lucilius's voice broke the Charonian's thoughts and she gasped loudly as he pulled the lever.

The other Scouts and Caliban looked at one another, confused, as the machine started to make a whirring noise and a long mast, which looked rather like a lightning conductor, rose up near the Plutonian Sphere.

When Florizel said the machine wouldn't work, they all wondered, did he mean that it wouldn't even start up or that it _would_ power up but not actually collect their Planet Power?

Their question was soon answered as they felt something deep within themselves.

Their energy draining - quickly.

"Oh, by the way," Lucilius smirked as the girls stared in shock. "I forgot to mention that before I starting building I had someone check over the blueprints. They noticed a few discrepancies with the settings. No worries, we soon fixed that." He placed his hands on the Plutonian Sphere, which at that moment was collecting particles of Planet Power that had seemingly just appeared from nowhere…

…_What the…?! _Merula gasped as she fell from the bench she had been sitting on and landed heavily onto her hands and knees. She'd been sat rather contentedly in Hyde Park when all of a sudden she'd felt like someone had hit her hard in the stomach. She screwed her eyes shut as she fought to catch her breath and calm her racing heart before someone saw her and wondered what was wrong. _What the heck's happening to me?! It feels like someone's-_

Her dark eyes flew open again as it became clear to her:

Someone must have been draining Sailor Mercury's power, and since they were linked by the Planet Power that Merula had stolen from the Mercurian in order to become Sailor Universe, hers was being taken along with it!

She gasped once more, this time in horror as she saw particles of Planet Power being drawn out of her skin like tiny specks of blue dust.

"No, no, this can't be happening!" she exclaimed, pushing herself up into a sitting position. Her face paled as she desperately reached up her arms and tried rather hopelessly to snatch the fragments out of the air before they vanished. However, she quickly discovered the more she struggled the weaker she became, and before long she let out a weary moan and slumped forward.

"Merula? Oh my goodness, Merula!" a voice suddenly rang in her ears, bringing her away from the black void she was about to enter. Alice, the waitress she'd become acquainted with days before, ran over, dropping the two ice cream cones she was carrying. "Merula, whatever happened? You look terrible!" The girl helped her weakened companion back onto the bench and pushed her hair gently out of her face. "You're so cold!" she gasped, flinching as her hand came into contact with Merula's cheek. "We should get you to a doctor!"

"No!" Merula snapped, causing the English girl to jump. "I'm sorry…it's just I hate doctors. I just need to lie down for a while." She closed her eyes.

"Okay, let's get you back to your hotel room," Alice announced. "But if you're not better in a couple of hours then I'm calling a doctor, and you can't stop me!"

"Yes, ma'am." Merula muttered, feeling too drained to argue anymore…

Meanwhile, back on the ship, Sailors Moon, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter and Mars were on their hands on knees, weakening quickly. Sailor Charon was being cradled by Caliban as she lay on the ground, her face contorted with pain as she gasped for air; her arms were numb as they hung down by her sides and she hadn't been able to feel her legs for several minutes.

She could feel her life slipping away.

_It's over_, she thought, _this is the end of me_.

Lucilius's laughter and the loud shuddering of the machine caused her ears to throb and her head to ache.

"Hold on, Charon, don't leave me!" Caliban didn't know what to do. Part of him knew he should try to stop the machine, but the other part of him wanted to stay at Charon's side. _She's dying…I know she is._ He thought anxiously, and he knew he had to stop Lucilius. Carefully letting the Scout's head touch the floor he got to his feet.

"This is the end!" he roared over the noise of the machine, and, pointing the tip of his sword at the foul creation, fired three large balls of energy at the Plutonian Sphere, which collected them just as it had the Scouts' Planet Power.

The light that the Sphere was radiating became blindingly bright and the machine started to shake violently as an alarm sounded.

"Too much pressure!" Quintus exclaimed, staring at Lucilius, who was also surrounded by the light of the Sphere, which he still had his hands on. "The ship will explode if we don't stop it!"

"No!" Lucilius yelled angrily. "It's almost done!" Caliban looked at the Scouts, frozen with shock.

"Caliban - get the Scouts to teleport out of there! We've detected a huge pressure build-up." Florizel said over his communicator.

"Right - come on Scouts!" he scooped Charon up in his arms. Knowing how much danger they were in the others all found their second wind and got up.

"Planet Power - Teleport!" They called as they swiftly formed a circle around Caliban. Thankfully they still had enough power to transport themselves to Florizel's ship, but collapsed as soon as they got there.

"Let's get out of here." Florizel said to Nerissa.

"Right." Nerissa nodded, pressing a few keys, silently thanking whatever great spirit was watching over the Scouts.

x x x x x

Venus and Mercury were watching from a window as Lucilius's ship suddenly exploded.

"It's over," Venus sighed, wiping the back of her hand over her weary eyes. "The end at last."

"Yes." Mercury remarked, leaning her head back against the seat she was in and closing her eyes.

Caliban was next to Charon, watching as sat silently with tears in her eyes. She had come round just after they teleported back.

"Charon…" He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped. She immediately relaxed again as she remembered where she was and who she was with.

"I'm sorry," she apologised quietly. "I guess I'm still kinda edgy." He nodded, then she threw herself into his arms. "Oh, Caliban! Is it really over?"

"The ship exploded. No one could've survived." he whispered into her hair. "You're safe now, my Princess, no one can hurt you here. I wouldn't let them anyway, even if they could." She pulled away from him, her arms still around his shoulders.

"You promise?" She whispered.

"I promise." She let out another loud sob and then leant forward to kiss him over and over - his lips, his cheeks, his entire face.

"Charon?" Another voice spoke up from over the couple, and they looked up at Sailor Mars, who was stood looking a little embarrassed. "I'm, uh, sorry to interrupt but…"

"I understand," Caliban smiled at her. "I'll leave you to it." he stood up and gave Mars's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before leaving the two girls to talk.

"I…" Mars began as she took Caliban's seat, however she never got to finish because Charon had raised her hand.

"You know that I know what you're going to say," she announced. "And you know I forgive you! I already told you that."

"No, I need to do this properly, Charon." The black-haired Scout protested. "So, be quiet! I forgive you for lying to me, and I'm sorry for not talking to you." Charon leant forward to embrace her.

"Let's try not to argue ever again, okay?"

"That's a deal." The two girls smiled at each other, and for some unknown reason started to laugh, albeit rather weakly as they were both too tired. "Now let's go home, Estrella will be so happy to see you."

"Yes, home." the Scout of Charon leant back against her seat and closed her eyes, suddenly feeling extremely weary again. All she wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep for a month.

Finally, the hell was over.

All was silent as the shredded and twisted remains of Lucilius's ship floated along to nowhere.

The silence was short-lived.

A deep, throaty laugh soon filled the emptiness.

"You haven't won yet, Sailor Scouts."


	16. Trust Your Instincts

15 - "Trust Your Instincts." 

"How much longer have we gotta wait? I'm starving!" Sailor Moon complained, clutching her stomach.

"Shut up, Serena!" Sailor Jupiter snapped from her position at the window. "There's more important things to think about other than your stomach!"

"Leave her be, Lita, I think we're all ready for a good meal."

The brunette looked over at Charon, who was the one who had just defended Serena. She was still sat with her eyes closed; her face was pale apart from the shadows under her eyes, the slight gash on her cheek and the dark cut on her bottom lip. She shuddered at the sight of the scratches and bruises on her friend's arms and legs and she couldn't help but wonder what Lucilius had put her through. At least it was over now…

"Oh no!" Sailor Charon's spoke up again as her eyes flew open. "No, no, no!"

"What's wrong?" Mercury inquired gently.

"The Plutonian Sphere! It was on Lucilius's ship when it blew up!" Tears fell down her cheeks as she put her hand against her forehead. "Pluto will be furious!" The blue-haired Scout put a comforting arm around the upset girl as she sat down beside her.

"It's alright, Alexia, Sailor Pluto will understand; it wasn't your fault…"

"Of course it is! I let my guard down!" She wept into Mercury's shoulder. The others looked at one another sadly, suddenly jumping as an alarm sounded.

"What is it?" Venus asked.

"The ship's computers have picked up an energy reading in sector HZ-52." Caliban announced from the screen he was watching.

"HZ-52? That's where Lucilius's ship exploded!" Nerissa exclaimed. Florizel looked grim.

"We need to investigate." He muttered. "Nerissa, turn us round and head back - full speed."

"Wait," she said, placing a hand on his forearm. "You need to get Charon home, plus Sailor Moon needs to eat." she smiled at the blonde Scout. "I'll take the Ithara out to check it out." Florizel looked into her deep green eyes and smiled.

"Very well, Nerissa, I know you are capable of looking after yourself."

"Hey, what's the Ithara?" Sailor Moon asked.

"My space cruiser." Nerissa grinned.

"Cool." Jupiter remarked.

"Good luck, Nerissa." Mars said.

"Yeah, come back soon." Venus added.

"We'll miss you!" Sailor Moon exclaimed.

"Thanks, guys." she smiled and with a final wave of her hand walked through the door.

"Be careful." Florizel murmured under his breath…

x x x x x

Sector HZ-52 was quite a large expanse of empty space, the only thing apart from stars in it were the floating parts of what had been Lucilius's ship. Nerissa checked her radars for any sign of the energy that Florizel's ship had picked up.

"Anything to report?" Caliban asked over the communicator.

"Not yet…" Nerissa muttered as she pressed a few buttons. Suddenly a white dot appeared on the radar. "Aha, there it is!" she looked out of the window and spotted a small silver-grey object speeding towards her. She bit her lip nervously as her face paled. "It's…it's an escape pod," she announced. "It's coming in my direction." The radio crackled slightly with static. "Are you reading me, Caliban?" More static. "Hello? Ithara to Nesbah - are you reading me?" Still nothing. "Come on, don't let me down now." She urged as the pod continued to move towards her. Suddenly the static faded. "Finally," she sighed. "Caliba…"

"Greetings, Nerissa." A deep voice growled mockingly over the radio. Her eyes widened.

"Who the…?"

"Who do you think I am, Nerissa?" the voice chuckled. The orange-haired woman gasped.

"Oh no…" she tried to move the cruiser, but discovered the controls were frozen. "Don't do this to me!" she yelled, banging the computer. She looked up again with fear in her eyes as the pod sped up and headed directly for the Ithara…

…Nerissa's scream ripped through HZ-52, shattering the peace…

"Nerissa! Nesbah to Ithara - can you hear me?" Florizel slammed his fist on the arm rest of his chair. The static just got worse. He placed his head in his hands. "I should've gone, I shouldn't have let her go alone." he muttered. Sailor Venus looked up at Jupiter.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she whispered.

"If you're talking about Florizel and Nerissa - I think I am." Jupiter replied quietly. "Poor guy, he _really_ cared about her."

"I just can't believe she's gone…" Mercury murmured sadly.

"Hey look guys! We're home!" Sailor Moon announced from the window, changing the subject quickly. The other Scouts, minus Charon, who was too tired to move, walked over.

"Home sweet home." Mercury smiled.

"Finally," Charon said weakly. "I was beginning to think I'd never see it again."

The ship landed in an empty parking lot near to the Hino Shrine.

"Come on now, time to get up." Caliban said gently as he helped Charon to her feet.

"Thanks." The green-haired girl smiled as she slowly walked off the ship.

"Terra firma, there's nothing like it." Mars sighed, stretching her arms out above her head.

Charon closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the cool evening air. She looked up at Caliban and smiled; she was holding onto him tightly, never wanting to let him go again.

"Everything's really going to be alright now, isn't it?" She murmured, her pale eyes searching his for reassurance.

"Yes, yes, my Princess, everything will be just fine." He pulled her closer and kissed her on the top of her head.

"So, what shall we do now?" Mercury inquired.

"I don't care as long as there's food involved!" Sailor Moon declared.

"And _I_ don't care as long as there's _sleep_ involved." Charon added, her head leant against Caliban's chest.

"I know, why don't we go back to my place and I'll rustle us up a victory feast; you can take a nap on my bed while I cook, Alexia." Jupiter suggested.

"That sounds like a brilliant idea!" Venus enthused.

"Will you join us, Caliban? Florizel?" Mercury inquired.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Caliban grinned.

"I am afraid I shall have to turn down your invitation," Florizel looked sombre. "I must return to HZ-52 and locate Nerissa."

"Oh, of course." The blue-haired Scout lowered her head sadly, wondering what could have happened to the Planet Guardian, for all they had heard over the communicator was static.

"Ummm…we'd better pick up the cats and Darien on the way on the way." Mars pointed out, breaking the silence which had fallen over the group.

"Don't worry about that. I left my communicator with Artemis; I'll just tell them to meet us at Lita's." Venus spoke up.

"So, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Sailor Moon exclaimed, as was about to skip off when a low rumbling sound, like distant thunder, sounded from overhead.

"Hey, what's that noise?" Jupiter inquired, looking up at the sky.

"It sounds rather like thunder," Mercury replied, also raising her eyes heavenward. "However, the clear skies rule out the possibility of a storm."

"Hey, look!" Sailor Moon exclaimed over the sound, which was becoming louder by the second. She pointed to a bright red light in the sky.

"What the hell _is_ that?!" Venus yelled as it got closer and closer.

"Damn," Florizel muttered, his eyes narrowing. "I knew it."

"Knew what?" Charon murmured nervously, clinging onto Caliban's arm. "He doesn't mean…" the red light was now hovering directly above them.

It was the escape pod Nerissa had encountered in HZ-52.

"No!" Charon exclaimed frantically, knowing almost instinctively who was within the pod.

"Please, no, it _can't_ be!" She hid her face in Caliban's chest.

"It's alright, my Princess, we'll protect you." he whispered soothingly, stroking her hair.

"Too right we will!" Sailor Moon declared. "Scouts, take your positions!" Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter all nodded as the pod landed directly in front of them.

There was a gush of steam and a loud hiss as the door flew open, and their worst fears came true.

Stood in the entrance were Quintus and a young man of about the same height as Caliban.

He was dressed entirely in black - black trousers, black boots, a long black coat and a black shirt. He had dark crimson hair and eyes of the darkest midnight blue, sparkling wickedly as he smiled. The girls couldn't help but notice how dashingly handsome he was, and felt almost drawn to him.

"Why, hello again; so nice of you to have a welcoming committee waiting for me." He laughed deeply.

"Lucilius," Florizel growled coldly. "So you _did_ survive the explosion." Lucilius nodded.

"Yes, and how do you like my new, or should I say old, look?" he spied Charon, hiding behind Caliban. "Ahhh and there's my dear Charon, did you miss me?"

"Leave her alone!" Sailor Moon declared. "We've all had enough of the way you've treated our friend and fellow Sailor Scout!" The others nodded in agreement. "I am Sailor Moon, champion of love and justice! I will right wrongs and triumph over evil - and that means you!" Lucilius laughed.

"What a pretty little speech," he jeered. "Alas, you are at an unfair advantage at the moment. You see, due to our unexpected…_mishap_…I didn't manage to get enough of your energy to regain my strength and full power; so if you'll give me a moment…" he closed his eyes, and the area surrounding him seemed to distort. Once again the Scouts felt their energy draining. Sailor Charon groaned helplessly as she dropped to the floor.

"Charon!" Caliban exclaimed.

"I'm sorry, Caliban," she whispered weakly. "It's just too much for me…" she felt dizzy as her vision went hazy and then everything turned black.

"Charon!" Caliban yelled again.

x x x x x

"Alexia's in trouble!"

"Serena's in trouble!"

Estrella and Darien, who had turned up straight after work, just as promised, spoke in perfect unison as they both leapt to their feet.

"What?!" Luna inquired in confusion.

"I don't know how, but I know Alexia's in grave danger - I can sense it!" Estrella exclaimed, her green eyes wide.

"They're back on Earth, quite nearby." Darien added as he transformed into Tuxedo Mask.

Then, almost as a sign, a flash of white lit up the darkened sky nearby.

"See?" The kitten exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"Right." Luna and Artemis nodded, and followed Estrella and Tuxedo Mask.

x x x x x

"Ahhh, _much_ better." Lucilius smiled with satisfaction. He was now fully powered-up and stood over the Scouts, who were on their knees at his feet. "And now it is time for you all to go and join Nerissa." He chuckled at the thought of what had happened in HZ-52. "So, who is going to beg for their life first…?" He looked at each Scout in turn. "Hmmm I think I'll choose…you." he pointed at Mercury. "Now, my pretty little Mercury, beg for me to spare you."

"Never!" she spat. "I would _never_ do that!"

"My, you used to be so quiet!" He exclaimed with mock surprise. "Shame you didn't keep your mouth shut this time." With a wave of his hand he sent her flying backwards. "How about you, Jupiter?" He knelt down to her level; she turned her face away in disgust. "Tut, tut, that's not the right answer either." He sighed, and with a tap on her chest knocked her back. "So, who will it be next? Venus or Mars, the choice is yours!" The two Scouts glared at him with contempt. "Perhaps a little persuasion is needed." He closed his eyes, and the unconscious Charon was transported into his arms. "Lovely, isn't she?" He breathed, looking directly at Caliban, who was helping Mercury to her feet. Then, raising an arm so as to bring Charon's head closer to his, Lucilius did something that neither the prince would never be able to forget.

He pressed his lips firmly against the out cold Scout's firmly and without emotion, his dark eyes continuing to beckon silently to Caliban.

The prince let out an almighty roar of anger as he swung his sword over his head.

"How dare you trespass!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "For that you shall _die_!"

"Not before your beloved Charon!" Lucilius spat back, letting the girl's legs drop as he raised his hand over her.

No one saw the red rose cut through the air.

It struck Lucilius's raised hand, cutting it. The man dropped Charon to the hard ground and cursed loudly.

"The Sailor Scouts will never beg, not even for you." Tuxedo Mask announced. Estrella, Luna and Artemis were stood near him. Venus, Mars and Moon all jumped to their feet.

"Venus Love Chain - Encircle!" Venus quickly wrapped the distracted Lucilius up in her chain of gold hearts.

"Moon Tiara…"

"Mars Fire…"

"Magic!" Sailor Moon threw her tiara.

"Ignite!" Mars's flames engulfed it as Lucilius broke free of the chain. He grinned wickedly as he deflected it using his coat - straight at Venus. She screamed as she fell to the ground.

"Sailor V!" Mars and Moon yelled helplessly.

"Florizel…?" Caliban inquired, looking at his father's adviser expectantly. Florizel nodded understandingly.

"Yes, Caliban, it's time we got involved." Quickly their clothes were replaced by beautiful suits of armour. "This is for Nerissa!"

"And for the princesses of this galaxy!" Caliban declared.

"And for Reimo!" They yelled together, firing energy out of the tips of their swords.

"This fight is getting boring…" Lucilius pretended to yawn as he lifted his hand. The energy blasts stopped in mid-air and turned back on the fighters. They leapt into the air to avoid them as Tuxedo Mask ran forward and attempted to strike Lucilius with his cane. The man dodged it and sent the gallant youth to the feet of Jupiter and Mercury, who were summoning their powers at that moment.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Jupiter Thunder - Crash!" the attacks combined and successfully struck the man. He glared angrily at them as he melted the ice.

"Stupid girls!" he yelled, once again knocking them to the ground.

Sailor Moon regarded the scene with serious eyes, jumping out of the way as a ball of black flames flew in her direction.

She didn't like this one little bit. The fully powered-up Lucilius was a great deal stronger than she'd imagined.

There was only one solution to this problem.

Stepping forward, her hands on either side of her brooch, Sailor Moon summoned the Imperium Silver Crystal.

"No!" the Scouts and cats yelled as they realised just what she was doing.

"Sorry guys, but this is the only way!" she called back to them as her Sailor Scout uniform was replaced by the Moon Princess's long, white gown.

"What's so wrong?" Caliban asked, unable to take his eyes off the blonde as she walked closer and closer to Lucilius.

"If she uses the Silver Crystal - she'll die!" Luna exclaimed frantically. "It will use all her power and destroy her!"

"Cosmic Moon Power!" The princess called, regardless of her companions' cries, and the crystal shone brightly, the heavenly, white light aimed towards Lucilius.

"Is that all you've got?!" He sneered as she got closer. There was no way he was going to let her know the truth - that his energy levels had started to lower as soon as the power of the Silver Crystal had struck him…

"Wh…what? Where am I?" Charon murmured weakly as her eyes fluttered open. She found herself staring at a dark sky, stars blocked out by thick clouds. As she lay there she could hear Lucilius laughing and the Scouts yelled out desperately, although what they were saying was incomprehensible to her swimming head. She noticed how the sky at the right edge of her vision seemed to be brighter than anywhere else. Turning her head, so that her cheek came into contact with the cold concrete below her, she looked at what was happening.

The Scouts - Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter, were stood with Tuxedo Mask, Caliban, Florizel, Luna and Artemis, watching as Lucilius stood, bathed in a white light, which was coming from the hands of a blonde girl in a beautiful white dress…Sailor Moon?

"Charon!" A voice exclaimed, sounding happy yet somehow sad at the same time. Charon felt Estrella's soft fur against her arm.

"What's happening?" The girl inquired quietly, looking down at the kitten and seeing the tears in her eyes.

"It's terrible," she told her, letting out a small sob. "Sailor Moon's using the Imperium Silver Crystal! She's going to sacrifice her life to save us all!"

The words hit the Scout hard and gave her the momentum she needed to sit up sharply.

"What? No!" She exclaimed, a lump forming in her throat as she managed to pull herself onto her knees. "This is all my fault! Sailor Moon is going to die because of me!" Tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on her gloved hands. "I should be helping! Why did I lose the Plutonian Sphere?" Her tears fell harder as she looked up at the sky again, guilt rising within her heart.

It was then she noticed the star.

Well, that's what it looked like, however Charon knew it couldn't be a star as it was in front of a dark cloud, rather than behind it. It was getting brighter and brighter as it came closer to Earth…

"Oh!" She gasped, her heart skipping a beat.

"What's that?!" Estrella exclaimed, looking upwards as well. Charon's face was joyful as she stood up shakily.

"It's…it's the Plutonian Sphere!" She announced, her voice full of amazement as she raised her hands to catch it. "It came back to me!" The Scout hugged the object close to her chest and as she did felt her energy levels rise slightly.

She slowly turned her head and felt sick to her stomach as she saw that Lucilius was still smirking.

Now it was time.

"Stop!" She yelled, and everyone turned to look at her, including the Moon Princess, who did as she was told and lowered the Silver Crystal.

"Charon! You're awake!" Mars exclaimed, feeling relieved to see her friend back on her feet.

"Aaaah, _Charon_; did you enjoy your little nap?" Lucilius sneered, glad for the break from the Moon Princess's attack.

"Shut up." Charon muttered, her eyes narrowing.

"Oooh, getting nasty, aren't we?" He said sarcastically.

"Shut. Up!" The man laughed, however Charon simply ignored it. "You have been judged for your crimes and the jury has found you guilty; the sentence has been passed and I am here to give you your punishment! I am Sailor Charon - defender of hope and peace and for Charon, the moon of Pluto, I will _destroy_ you!" Lucilius laughed again and the Inner Moon Princess saw her chance - she raised the Silver Crystal again, giving it her all, and the smirk was knocked from Lucilius's face. As he dropped to his knees, yelling out in pain, Sailor Charon marched forward slowly, the Plutonian Sphere held firmly in her hands. The wind blew her hair about, and what was left of her plait fell out. "Sailor Pluto, give me your power…" She commanded and the Sphere began to glow and floated from her hands. Sailor Pluto's stern face appeared on the surface.

"No, Charon! You are too weak to fight!" The Guardian of Time declared harshly, Charon took a breath. She had been expecting this and knew exactly how to respond.

"Pluto, you once told me to trust my instincts, and at this present moment they are telling me that I need to do this." Pluto's face relaxed and she smiled gently.

"Then I cannot argue with you."

"Thank you, my Plutonian Sister. I love you." Charon said sincerely, and with that she lifted the Sphere above her head as they called out in unison -

"PLUTONIAN SISTER PLANET POWER!!"

"Nooooo!!" The Scouts yelled as she walked past them. "Not you too!" They stared, not knowing what to do, as her Sailor suit seemed to melt and change into a long sleeveless lilac dress with a slit up to the knee on one side. Around her waist was a pink sash and gold earrings hung from her ears. As she closed her eyes the symbol of Charon appeared on her forehead. She joined her fellow Moon Princess, reopening her eyes. The two girls smiled at each other fondly, understanding what they must do.

"Ready?" Serena whispered.

"As ever." Princess Charon replied. The two girls lifted their arms higher as the energy from the Silver Crystal and Plutonian Sphere combined into a blinding white light, Lucilius howled in agony as it struck him. He could feel the pure energy of the two princesses burning away all of the dark power he had successfully managed to reclaim that night. Yet as he cried out he was still laughing triumphantly deep inside his black heart…

"What shall we do?!" Sailor Venus exclaimed as the group continued to watch the events before them.

"There's only one thing we _can_ do," Tuxedo Mask declared. "Help." With that he ran to Serena, transforming into his regal armour.

"I'm coming, Charon!" Caliban called out, following Darien. The two princes stood behind the Inner and Outer Moon Princesses, giving their power to the cause.

"I'm so glad you're here…" Charon whispered to Caliban as he held onto her waist tightly.

"Come on, Sailor Scouts." Mercury said calmly, taking Mars's hand. They formed a circle, their Planet Powers rising, and called:

"Mercury Star Power!"

"Mars Star Power!"

"Jupiter Star Power!"

"Venus Star Power!"

"Sailor Planet Power!" Their energies combined, then arched out like a rainbow to join the energy of the Sphere and Silver Crystal.

"You won't win!" Lucilius yelled angrily.

"Master!" Quintus whimpered, running to Lucilius's side. The light became unbearable and everyone covered their eyes…

…As the light subsided the Scouts and Florizel all lowered their arms from their faces to look upon the aftermath.

Lucilius and Quintus had vanished.

And there, on the ground, knelt Caliban and Darien, cradling the lifeless bodies of Sailors Moon and Charon.

"_No_!" Sailor Venus cried. "No, they _can't_ be!" She dropped down between the two Scouts. "They're not breathing!" She wailed.

"They're dead…" Mercury whispered, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"Serena, Alexia." Jupiter said sadly.

"Why? Why did you do it?" Mars said angrily, her tear-filled eyes glaring accusingly at Charon.

"Charon! No!" Estrella was hysterical, sobbing loudly as she rubbed her face against the girl's pale cheek, as if would bring her back.

"My beautiful Princess." Caliban whispered, his voice choked with emotion, as he lowered the girl's eyelids over her blank eyes.

"I can't believe this…" Venus sobbed. "I cannot believe they're gone!"

"Don't leave us, either of you, please." Mars whispered, her eyes closed as the tears escaped.

"Perhaps I can help." A gentle and familiar voice murmured. The group looked up tearfully to gaze at the delicate blue face of…

"Nerissa!" They all exclaimed, amazed to see her alive and well.

"We thought you were dead!" Mercury said, a smile managing to break across her tear-stained face. Nerissa, who was in her Planet Guardian uniform, smiled and shook her head.

"No, you see I can survive in space! I managed to teleport out of the Ithara just before Lucilius's escape pod hit it…my poor cruiser was completely wrecked, so I had to gather all my strength to teleport myself back here. I'm sorry I couldn't get back sooner-" she was cut off as Florizel suddenly threw his arms around her.

"I thought you were gone." He said lovingly, and the woman blushed furiously at the man's very public display of affection. Venus nudged Jupiter and they looked knowingly at each other.

"What did I tell ya?" The blonde whispered, winking.

"So, how can you help?" Estrella asked quickly, still close to Charon. Nerissa's smile broadened.

"Of course - your Special Power!" Caliban exclaimed, his eyes bright and hopeful.

"Special Power?" Jupiter repeated.

"Yes - you see, every Planet Guardian is granted a Special Power. Mine just happens to be the ability to restore life to those whose deserve it…and I can't think of a pair who deserve it more than Serena and Alexia."

"That's so cool!" Venus exclaimed, clapping her hands together joyfully.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Artemis smiled at Nerissa. "Let's get them back!"

Nerissa nodded, twirling her staff around her head. The jewel at the end glimmered.

"Reimo Regeneration!" she called, and pointed the staff at the girls, the jewel sending beams of light into their chests…

x x x x x

Charon was flying.

The sky was dark and sparkled with stars. She looked down on a beautifully lit place, a huge palace in the middle of many beautifully coloured gardens. It was warm and she felt relaxed as she floated along. But deep in her heart she was lonely.

"Where are the others?" She asked out loud. "I'm so alone here." She sighed miserably.

"Charon!" She heard the breeze call her name. "Charoooooon!"

Suddenly she realised it wasn't the wind - it was Sailor Moon.

The blonde girl flew to her, smiling.

"I'm so glad to see you." Charon said as they hugged.

"Ditto." Sailor Moon grinned.

"It's so beautiful here, but I want to go home." The dark-haired Scout sighed. Sailor Moon nodded.

"Me too…hey, do you know this place by the way?"

"Of course I do, how could I ever forget it? It's the Moon Kingdom." Sailor Moon nodded again.

"Yep, anyway, the others are waiting for us - let's go!" The Scouts held hands and faded away.


	17. Epilogue: Last Dance

Epilogue - Last Dance.

"One and two and three and four…" Ms. Yakamori clapped her hands as she counted the beat. "Very good, Alexia." she complimented the young dancer as she spun past her. The music stopped. "Matthias? It's your turn."

"Good job." 'Matthias' remarked as he took the stage and she sat down.

"Thanks." She grinned at him, grabbing her towel. She sat back and sighed happily. It had been a week since her return to Earth and so far everything had been fantastic. It was a Friday evening, the next evening would be the recital, and so this was the last rehearsal before the big run-through that would occur the following morning. As she watched Caliban move gracefully to the music a smile came to her face. The best thing was the fact that she and Caliban could now be happy…and safe. She recalled the immense relief she'd felt as she'd woken up, revived by Nerissa's power, to discover Lucilius and Quintus were gone - presumably dead; and it had been the first thought that had crossed her mind every morning since then. However, mixed in with the joy was a deep feeling of sadness, for she knew that Caliban would have to go home soon, to makes amends with his father and people and then to take his rightful place as Emperor. She continued to watch her boyfriend dance when someone spoke from the seat next to her.

"He's really good, isn't he?"

Alexia turned her head to smile at Rei.

"Yeah, he sure is. What are you doing here?"

"It's eight-thirty, I said I'd come meet you, remember?" Her best friend reminded her.

"Is it that time already? Gosh, it's flown by!" The dancer exclaimed.

"So, are you finished?" The black-haired girl tilted her head. Alexia stood up and at the same time Caliban stopped dancing.

"Ms. Yakamori? Is it alright if I go now?" The teacher looked at her watch.

"Yes, Alexia, try and get a good night's sleep. It's going to be a very long day tomorrow."

"Yes, Ms. Yakamori, see you tomorrow." She bowed respectfully to her teacher then looked at Rei. "Come on then, shall we go?"

"Sure." Rei got to her feet, and the girls walked to the changing room backstage so Alexia could change. "So, how's it going? Are you going to be read y for the big night?"

"There's still a couple of things we need to go over again in the morning, but apart from that, all's well." She pulled a jumper on. "I'm so excited! It's going to be so…" she fell silent and sat down. "Oh, who am I kidding? I don't want tomorrow evening to come, Rei! I don't want to the recital to happen, because…"

"Because Caliban won't have any more commitments on Earth and will have to go home." Her companion finished the sentence for her, putting a supportive arm around the saddened Alexia. "I know it's going to be hard for you and that you're going to miss him, Alexia, and that's why I'm gonna be there for you, no matter what. My shoulder is always free for you to cry on and my ears free to listen to your every worry, you know that." The green-haired girl managed a smile.

"Thanks, Rei; no wonder you're my best friend." She said gratefully.

x x x x x

"I simply cannot _begin_ to tell you how proud I am of her; only 13 Xyloxian years old and she can already handle a Mithraeic dagger better than I ever could!" Nerissa nodded slowly, resisting the temptation to roll her eyes. She was sat with her arms folded and legs propped up on the console, looking at the computer's main monitor on Caliban's ship. On the monitor was a woman with red hair and eyes of the same colour, who was grinning proudly.

"That _is_ wonderful news, Teio." Nerissa remarked, managing to keep the boredom out of her voice.

"Well, I must go now," the woman said apologetically. "I promised Pei I would contact her before she leaves Mithra for her next destination. Oooh, I can't wait to find out what she learns next!"

"Neither can I, Teio, neither can I." The orange-haired woman responded, not meaning it one little bit.

"Well, then, _rijam_, Nerissa!" Teio twinkled her fingers before signing off.

"Rijam." Nerissa muttered, then took a deep sigh of relief as the screen went blank.

"You speak Xyloxian now, do you?" Caliban commented as he joined her. "Who was that?"

"_That_ was Teio, Xyloks Guardian." Nerissa explained, lowering her feet from the console. "She's nice enough I guess…if you can stand her talking about her daughter Pei and what a _brilliant_ Planet Guardian she's going to be every two seconds…"

"Oh, no wonder you looked so relieved when she signed off." The blonde prince remarked.

"Yup, I just had a whole hour of 'Pei's adventures on Mithra'." She told him, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes.

"What are the other Planet Guardians like? Have you had to go on any group missions with them?" Caliban inquired curiously. He realised he had a _lot_ of catching up to do…

"No, we haven't, and I'll tell you this - I'm not looking forward to the day we have to." She sighed wearily. "Not one little bit…" She looked at him and smiled. "You and Alexia were great at rehearsal, by the way, the recital should be a real success."

"Yeah…" He said rather distantly. Suddenly the computer signalled that someone was trying to contact them.

"Pleeease don't be Teio again!" Nerissa begged as she set up the communication. It was Florizel.

"Greetings," he looked sombre as he appeared on screen. He had returned to Reimo three days before to inform Caius of everything that had happened and to check how the ailing Emperor was doing. "I am on my way back to Earth and so thought I ought to get in touch."

"What's happened? How is my father?" Caliban asked anxiously, the man shook his head gravely.

"He is greatly looking forward to seeing you again, Caliban, and he shall…very soon." He paused. "I am afraid that his condition is now critical, the doctors say he shall only live at most for another week…we have no other choice but to leave Earth immediately after the recital." Caliban lowered his head, his eyes fixed on the floor.

"I see," He murmured. "And I understand…"

"I am sorry, Your Highness." The Royal Adviser said honestly.

"It's okay, really it is, Florizel," the prince replied, looking up again. "I knew this was going to happen sooner or later…I guess I just hoped it would be the latter rather than the former…"

He stood up, "I'm going to bed, I'm tired, goodnight." and with that he left the control room.

"Poor thing…" Nerissa sighed sympathetically as she watched the door slide shut behind him.

"How are _you_, anyway, Nerissa?" Florizel asked her.

"Me? I'm fine; happy and excited at the thought that we can finally go home." She replied, a dreamy look on her face as she thought about Reimo.

"Go home…and be together?" Florizel inquired, his dark eyes sparkling with curiosity. Her smile broadened.

"That depends on what you mean by 'be together'." She teased.

"You know exactly what I mean." He smiled back at her, wishing he was actually with her rather than talking over the computer.

"Well, in that case…" Her cheeks reddened as she lost herself in his warm gaze. "Most definitely."

x x x x x

The next day…

"Okay, here we are." Caliban announced as he led Alexia through the woody area near to his ship. His hands were firmly covering the girl's eyes and so she was walking in front of him, her arms spread out wide, making sure she didn't walk into anything. It was early, before the dress rehearsal. The day before he had asked Alexia to meet him early at his ship, although he hadn't explained why.

He sat her down on the trunk of a fallen tree and finally removed his hands from her face. "Well, what do you think?" He inquired hopefully. They were sat in the same place where Nerissa and Florizel had often met secretly at the beginning of their mission. The leaves of the trees were a thousand shades of green, brown, gold, red and orange and they looked ablaze in the bright sunlight of the early morning.

"It's beautiful," Alexia commented, taking in the scenery. "But why have you brought me here?"

"Am I not allowed to be alone with my girlfriend now?" The prince inquired, putting his arm around her. Alexia giggled bashfully; she was sure she'd never get used to him calling her his girlfriend. He spoke again, his voice this time quiet and sad. "After all, we only have a few more hours together…"

"What do you mean?" She inquired, although she knew deep in her heart what he was going to say, and so in the end she decided to answer her own question, unable to hear him say it. "You're leaving after the recital, aren't you?" He merely nodded. "Is your father…dying?" He nodded again. "I'm so, so sorry…" The Charonian sighed, leaning her head against him. "I'm starting to wonder if there'll ever be a time when we'll be able to be together without something coming between us…" She gasped, covering her mouth as she realised what she'd said. "I'm sorry! That was so selfish of me…I understand you need to go back, really I-"

She was cut off by his lips, which suddenly came into contact with her own.

"I feel the same way, Alexia. But there _will_ be a time when we'll be together for the rest of our lives - I'm sure of it." He responded optimistically. "We are meant to be together - and I have the proof." He reached into his pocket to take out the glass cube which held – "This is a Charonian Ice Blossom, also known as the Flower of Eternal Love." He explained, not knowing if she knew what it was.

"You still have it!" Alexia responded, her blue eyes wide with astonishment.

"You know about it?!" Caliban exclaimed, just as surprised as she was. The girl smiled and nodded. She took the flower from him and examined it carefully through the glass.

"Last night I was just sitting thinking when I realised I could remember something that happened back on the Moon. It was strange, one moment it wasn't there and the next I couldn't stop thinking about it…can I tell you about it?"

"Sure, I'd love to hear it." The prince replied. Alexia smiled fondly at the flower as she remembered.

"Well, it all starts with me in a garden…"

…_Charon hummed to herself cheerfully as she dug the soft soil of one of her flower beds with a gardening fork. She had been in a very good mood ever since she had woken up that morning; in fact she had been in a good mood since the day before. The other princesses had inquired into her happiness but she had simply shrugged and told them she didn't really know the cause of her joy. That of course had been a lie, and although she felt bad about not telling her friends the truth she didn't want to tell them why she was so happy just in case everything went wrong…_

_For deep within her, hidden below the cheerful exterior, Charon was worried. _

_She hadn't seen Caliban since the party they'd had to welcome him and his father's adviser to the Moon, and with every hour that had passed since then the princess had wanted to see him more and more. However there had been no sign of him, and it pained her heart to think that perhaps…she shook her head - no, she couldn't think like that. "The only way you shall ever know the one you are destined to be with is by meeting him," her mother had once told her during one of her long educating talks back on the Outer Moon. Charon was now sure that her mother had been correct, and that she had met that very person yesterday. She would never have even thought of giving him a Charonian Ice Blossom otherwise. She placed down her gardening fork and sighed sadly._

"_Perhaps he had to rush back to Reimo for something important," she wondered out loud. "Oh, I __do__ hope I see him again!"_

"_See who again, Your Highness?" _

_Charon's heart leapt as she heard the male voice pipe up from behind her. Getting up from the cloth she was kneeling on in order to keep her dress clean she turned to face Prince Caliban, who was looking at her with serious grey eyes._

"_You are here! I was worried you had returned to Reimo!" she exclaimed as he walked over to where she was stood. _

"_You were worried? My Princess, I would __never__ have left this place without saying farewell to you beforehand." He told her, smiling, although his eyes were still grave. She noticed how he held his hands behind his back. _

"_What are you hiding behind your back, __my__ Prince?" She inquired, teasing over his use of the possessive. "Could it be what I think it is?" Her heart was beating quickly with anticipation. _

"_Well, what do you think it might be?" He teased back. The princess couldn't help but feel slightly nervous, his eyes had still not lost their seriousness since his arrival. _

"_Please, you know what I think! Just tell me!" He sighed and brought one hand around to his front. In it was…nothing._

"_Alas, my Princess," he murmured sadly. "The flower you gave me wilted and died not long after you gave it to me…"_

_Charon had to sit down quickly._

_A lump immediately formed in her throat as she realised what he was saying and she bit her lip, unprepared to cry in front of him._

"_I see…" she managed to say, swallowing hard. "I am sorry to have wasted your time…" she stared at the ground, unable to look at Caliban. She had been so sure! So sure that he had been the one she'd dreamed of her whole life…the one who would love her like her father loved her mother._

_Suddenly Caliban started to chuckle. _

_The Outer Moon Princess's head snapped up as she glared at him, not believing what was happening. "How __dare__ you! How dare you laugh at me!" She cried out furiously, however the prince continued. "Get out of my garden! Leave at once! How could I ever have believed that we were meant to be together?!"_

_The prince's laughter came to an immediate halt._

"_You believed we were meant to be together?" He inquired quietly and the girl nodded, feeling hurt. Suddenly he grabbed her hand and grinned, his eyes now sparkling joyfully. "Well, my Princess, what if we were?" Charon looked at him in amazement, beginning to wonder if this strange young man was the same person she had become acquainted with the day before. _

"_Whatever do you mean?!" She exclaimed in annoyance. Caliban continued to keep a hold of her hand, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and that was when the Princess noticed something._

_His other hand was still behind his back!_

"_I'm sorry," he smiled. "I just had to get revenge for how you tricked me yesterday." He finally brought his other hand around to his front. "You were quite correct…" Charon's eyes lit up joyfully as she switched her gaze between the Charonian Ice Blossom that the prince held and his face._

"_I should be mad at you for being so cruel to me…" she told him, the smile returned to her face. "But, oh!" She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "I'm so happy!" Caliban carefully placed the flower in his pocket so he could hold her by the waist and they looked deeply into one another's eyes. _

"_I love you, Charon." He told her frankly._

"_And I love you too, Caliban." She replied, wondering if all of this was actually happening or if perhaps she was dreaming. Not sure what to say or do next the princess simply continued to gaze at her true love expectantly. A feeling of nervousness washed over her as the prince leant his face in further towards hers, their eye contact never breaking. She knew what was going to happen, just as she had the day before, and she hoped, although she was nervous about it, that they wouldn't be interrupted this time._

_His lips brushed against her gently and she closed her eyes, deciding she shouldn't think about what was happening, that perhaps kissing would come naturally. It was a strange but altogether very pleasant experience, she found. When the contact between their lips finally broke the princess couldn't help but giggle, her cheeks so red they were almost glowing. _

"_That was…wonderful," she told him quietly, suddenly feeling rather shy. "Could I possibly have another one?"_

"_My Princess, you can have as many kisses as you like." Caliban grinned, holding Charon so close that she could feel his heart beating along with her own…_

"…And that's all I can remember." Alexia concluded.

"That's a shame, since the best part was what happened _after_ that." Caliban informed her. "Well, it wasn't great at first, but in the end it turned out just fine."

"Oh, tell me what happened, please!" Alexia exclaimed, looking at him imploringly. He chuckled as he started to relate the story to her.

"Now I look back at it I can't help but laugh. We went back to the palace to tell everyone the good news, only to be immediately dragged apart and grimly informed we were expected at an emergency council meeting. It turned out that Luna had seen us kissing and was concerned I'd led you astray! She suggested that I was sent back to Reimo unless I agreed to keep away from you and, quite surprisingly, Queen Serenity agreed! Well, there was no way you were going to stand for that, so you practically _leapt_ onto your seat and declared in an extremely loud and angry voice that you would _not_ stop seeing me because you loved me! What a commotion _that_ caused! And then, to add to the action, who should walk in but your mother and father, announcing that they'd received an urgent message to come to the Moon Kingdom as quickly as possible! I swear, if looks could kill Luna would have dropped dead there and then - you were absolutely furious!

"However, Luna _hadn't_ sent the message - _I _had! I explained what had happened between us and showed them the Charonian Ice Blossom - they were delighted! And even more so when I told them the reason why I had sent for them - to ask personally for their daughter's hand in marriage." He paused to take a breath. "They agreed to it straight away - and _that_, my dear Alexia, is the crazy story of how we became engaged."

"That _does_ sound pretty crazy…" Alexia remarked, smiling. "Anyway, look at the time! We have to go! Ms. Yakamori will kill us, we're going to be late!"

"No fear!" He grinned as they stood up. He wrapped his arms around her and ordered her jokingly to "Hold on tight!" before teleporting. It was a strange feeling, like everything was moving past them at an impossible speed, but soon Alexia found they were stood a little way from the theatre.

"Wow, that _is_ handy!" She remarked approvingly.

"Come on, let's get in there before Ms. Yakamori blows up!" He grinned, grabbing her hand and running towards the steps.

x x x x x

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, we're done!" Ms. Yakamori clapped her hands, a smile adorned her face - something that the class weren't used to seeing very often. "I'm very proud of you all," she added. "Tonight will be a complete success if you dance as well as you have this morning! So I want you all to go home, have a good meal, and above all, _relax_!" She looked at Alexia as she said this. "I expect you all to be backstage by five, that gives you two hours to warm up, get in costume and made up." She disappeared backstage and Alexia sighed and stood up. She watched as Nerissa, obviously disguised as Crystal, got up from the piano, studying a piece of music. She looked up and waved before going in the same direction as Ms. Yakamori had gone. Alexia then walked slowly back to the stage, wondering what she could have for dinner and trying not to remember what Caliban had told her that morning. She couldn't help it, though; it was eating away at her and had been doing so throughout the rehearsal. Even looking at him hurt, knowing that she had to store as many images of him in her memory before it was too late-

"So, you think they _are_ an item?"

"Of course, have you seen the way they look at each other?"

She realised the voices were coming from the other side of the curtain and so, very carefully, she leant closer to have a look around. She discovered a group of girls, including Shishu and Saya, were stood there, whispering to each other earnestly.

"She's so lucky! Shame really, because I was thinking of asking him out on a date after the recital…" One of the girls, who was called Mai, murmured.

"_You_, get a date with _Matthias_?! In your dreams!" Saya laughed.

"Yeah, anyway, you have no chance with Alexia around!" One of the others exclaimed.

"I think they make a sweet couple…" Shishu announced.

"That's if they _are_!"

"Well, we'll just have to ask them, won't we?" Alexia managed to keep her laughter under her breath.

"What's so funny?" Caliban whispered in her ear. His sudden appearance startled her and she clung onto the curtain while her heart returned to its normal rate.

"Oh, nothing, really," she smiled, finally turning to look at him. "Nothing at all."

x x x x x

Backstage was utter chaos. Some dancers were dashing around asking about missing toe shoes or other items; others were stood chatting; and Caliban was stood on his own, in a deep state of concentration.

"He's been like that since he got here! He's so calm and collected!" Someone exclaimed.

"I wish I was, I've got a really minor part but I'm still a nervous wreck." Another said. "I wonder where Alexia is?"

"Oh, she's with her friends, getting ready, she's gonna look gorgeous!"

Inside the small dressing room, which everyone had been ushered out of an hour or so before so Alexia could prepare herself in relative calm…

"Stop moving around, Alexia!" Mina exclaimed as she stuck hairpins into the girl's piled-up hair.

"I can't! I'm too nervous!" She exclaimed, fidgeting in her seat and repeatedly tapping her thighs with her hands. Rei sighed, knelt down next to her and grabbed her hands.

"You need to calm down, now." She said seriously, her dark eyes looking straight into Alexia's. "Otherwise you're never going to be ready in time!"

"I know, I'm sorry…" Alexia murmured, looking down at her lap and starting to play with the lace of her tutu. "In a few hours Caliban will be gone." She whispered, totally out of the blue.

"It's been a strange few weeks, hasn't it?" Rei remarked.

"Tell me about it," the dancer remarked. "Not long ago I knew nothing of Caliban or Lucilius. Now I feel like I know a lot more about my past life." She looked up again. "I really wish I could recall it entirely, sometimes I ask Estrella to tell me stories of the Moon Kingdom but she's pretty reluctant to, she says I ought to stick to living this life rather than try to re-live my old one."

"For a kitten she's pretty wise." Rei commented.

"Ta da! All finished!" Mina declared. "Time for you to have a look!" Alexia got off the chair and walked over to the full-length mirror.

"Is that really me?" The girl breathed as she turned herself this way and that. Her hair was piled on top of her head with a few strands hanging loosely round her face; her make up was just right - not too much, not so little that it wouldn't been seen under the bright stage lights. A sparkling gold tiara adorned her head, and she was wearing a beautifully made cream tutu, decorated with pearls, lace and golden embroidery.

"You look amazing!" Rei exclaimed.

"Of course she does!" Mina grinned smugly as she walked to the dressing room door. "Let's show the others! Caliban's going to go wild when he sees you!" With that she opened the door and announced loudly over the rabble: "And now presenting, your prima ballerina - Miss Alexia Risolto!" She stepped out of the way to allow Alexia to walk through and the troupe gasped.

"WOW!" Shishu gasped as she pushed through the group to grab the rather embarrassed Alexia's hands. "You look…wow! Like a real princess!" Rei and Mina looked at one another and couldn't help but giggle at Shishu's exclamation.

Caliban's grey eyes were impossibly wide as he stood staring at Alexia. For a moment he thought he'd gone back in time to the Silver Millennium and the Moon Kingdom, and that he was looking at Princess Charon just before she had danced on the evening he had been introduced to Queen Serenity's court. As she walked over to him his tongue was tied.

"Well? What do _you_ think?" She asked quietly, and his response caused quite a stir. Unable to find the right words to express what he was thinking, he simply placed his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her with indescribable passion.

"Let's go and find the others." Rei said to Mina over the gasps and murmured comments of the dancers.

"Good idea," Mina responded. The pair patted Alexia on the back as they walked past her. "Hey, Matthias, don't mess up her make-up too much!" The blonde added teasingly as they left.

"I guess that answers our question." Shishu remarked to Saya, who nodded in agreement.

x x x x x

"Hey guys!" Mina greeted Amy, Lita, Darien and Serena as she and Rei joined them outside the auditorium.

"Here you are!" Lita exclaimed. "We've been waiting for you for ages!"

"How is everything backstage? Is Alexia nervous?" Amy inquired.

"A little, but she'll be fine once she gets on stage." Rei answered.

"Look at Alexia's parents, they're so proud of her." Serena remarked, looking over at Miaka and Alfredo, who were chatting earnestly to some other adults.

"Yes, she's always wanted to be a dancer, since she was tiny!" Miaka exclaimed, her eyes bright.

"She's been going to classes since she was 3. She's our star!" Alfredo looked as if he were about to burst with pride.

"We ought to get to our seats, it begins in two minutes." Mina announced. They nodded and walked into the auditorium. People were fighting to get to their seats before the curtain went up and the group had to squeeze through to get to their row.

"Is it safe?" Darien whispered, pointing to the holdall, which seemed to move around, on his lap. The other girls looked around, then nodded. He opened the zipper and Luna, Artemis and Estrella looked out.

"How exciting!" Estrella mewed.

"Shh!" The others hushed the kitten quickly as the lights went down and the curtains went up on a beautiful garden scene - the recital was beginning at last!

x x x x x

The audience cheered and clapped loudly as the curtain fell on Alexia. She sighed with relief as she relaxed and was handed a towel.

"Brilliant first part, people." Ms. Yakamori praised. "You have fifteen minutes to relax and go through anything you're concerned about." The troupe nodded and scattered. Caliban grinned as Alexia walked over to him.

"You were great." He told her, slipping his arms round her waist.

"You too." she said.

"Congrats guys, the audience were going crazy for ya!" Nerissa, disguised as Crystal, joined them. Her happy expression changed into a more sombre one as she got closer. "Florizel's returned." She informed them. "He brought back a crew to take your ship, they've already set off. We shall travel with Florizel." Caliban nodded understandingly, his eyes suddenly downcast.

"I see." He tightened his grip on Alexia, who smiled bravely at him.

"We'll be alright." She whispered, fighting the tears that threatening to form. There was an hour to go before the end of the recital, and then…

Suddenly the moment was destroyed by an ear-piercing shriek, coming through the backstage door that led outside. A distraught woman ran in.

"A monster!" She cried out hysterically. "A huge, hideous monster!" She broke down into tears as a huge group went to comfort her. There was a bleep from Nerissa's communicator.

"We have company," Florizel announced as she answered the call. "Looks like I brought a visitor back from Reimo." Nerissa, Caliban and Alexia looked at one another sternly.

"Come on, we haven't got long." Caliban instructed.

"Let me contact the others." Alexia said, and sent Rei a telepathic message: _We've got trouble at the back of the theatre. Meet us quickly._

_Right, Alexia, we're on our way._

"Okay, ready!" She announced, and the trio sneaked away.

"What _is_ that thing?!" Alexia exclaimed as they met Florizel.

"I dunno, but whatever it is it's not happy." Lita replied as the rest of the Scouts joined them.

"That is a Rock Eagle," Caliban told them. "They're common to Reimo and usually pretty good tempered…"

"I think it's the atmosphere, I don't think it agrees with it." Florizel remarked. They all looked up at the huge brown bird, which was swooping and screeching wildly at anything in its sight. Every now and then its huge wings clipped the theatre, knocking off loose parts of the building's ornate façade.

"We've gotta do something about it before it demolishes the theatre!" Mina yelled, ducking her head as the bird got far too close for comfort.

"Leave it to us, we'll sort it!" Serena said courageously.

"I'll help too!" Nerissa called.

"Where's Darien?" Caliban asked.

"He's looking after the cats in the theatre." Serena explained. "We couldn't leave them alone!"

They all held their Transformation items high-

"Reimo Power - Transform!"

"Mercury Star Power - Make Up!"

"Mars Star Power - Make Up!"

"Jupiter Star Power - Make Up!"

"Venus Star Power - Make Up!"

"Charon Moon Power - Make Up!"

"Moon Crystal Power - Make Up!"

The six Sailor Scouts and Reimo Guardian stood together.

"Shine Aqua Illusion!"

"Glittering Ice!"

"Jupiter Thunder!" Sailors Mercury, Jupiter and Reimo Guardian attacked together, freezing the bird's wings and sending it crashing to the ground. Its call got louder and angrier as it struggled to break the ice.

"Venus Love Chain Encircle!" Venus tied its wings in place.

"Charon Psy-Wave!"

"Mars Celestial Fire - Surround!" the Scouts of Mars and Charon double-teamed perfectly.

"We're going to have to destroy it - it's the only way!" Florizel yelled over the Rock Eagle's furious shrieking. Sailor Moon nodded and swung her sceptre around her head:

"Moon Sceptre Activation!" The bright beam of energy struck the bird, immediately turning it into nothing but dust.

"Good job, everyone." Luna commended as the group changed back into their normal clothes.

"We better get back before Ms. Yakamori misses us." Alexia announced.

"You're right, c'mon." Caliban and Nerissa sprinted off, followed by Alexia.

"See y'all later! She called over her shoulder to her friend.

"Sure! Great first half, by the way!" Rei called back.

"And where have _you_ been?" Ms. Yakamori looked stern as the trio entered breathlessly.

"Sorry, it's my fault." Alexia blurted out. "I felt a bit faint so Crystal and Matthias took me outside to get some air."

"I see," Ms. Yakamori's voice lost its harshness. "Well, I hope you are feeling better now, Miss Risolto."

"Oh, much, thank you." Alexia replied as the teacher walked away.

"Nice one, Alexia." Nerissa breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah." Caliban agreed, putting his arm around Alexia's shoulders. "So, shall we take a break now?"

"Definitely." The Charonian nodded, allowing him to lead her to some chairs nearby. "'No rest for the wicked'? More like 'no rest for the good guys'!"

x x x x x

The music slowed, and the audience relaxed into it as Alexia took a deep breath and danced in from the right side of the stage. She twirled and leapt in time to the music as Caliban joined her. She caught his eyes mid-pirouette and smiled within herself as he caught her. This was the final dance of the night, but to Alexia it was the first - the dance that they had performed together at the audition. As he lifted her above his head she found herself thinking about all of the things that had happened since she had first met him: how he had made her feel so scared at first; their first date; the Scouts telling her who he really was; how Lita and Rei fell out with her; her time on Lucilius's ship; and lastly the great fight against the man himself…so much had happened since that day she had fainted at the Shrine, and she knew that she would never forget any of it.

As the last memory slowly faded into the distance, the music ended. She took Caliban's hand and curtsied as the audience got to their feet and applauded loudly. She looked up at the prince and grinned, he smiled back fondly. Flowers were flung at their feet and Alexia noticed the Scouts move from their seats and walk onto stage, carrying a large bouquet of blue flowers.

"Oh, you guys!" She hugged each of them tightly, swallowing hard as she felt tears in her eyes. She was overjoyed that the recital had gone so well, yet…

It was time to say goodbye.

x x x x x

Alexia and Caliban were holding each other tightly, back in their own clothes, feeling numb.

She was finding it harder and harder not to cry, breathing deeply to keep the misery she so desperately wanted to allow to cry out (but not in front of him) within. The time had gone by so quickly, and she wished that she could have the last week all over again - and again - and again…

"I'm scared, Alexia." He whispered into her ear. "What if the people don't accept me back? I don't know how to be an Emperor…what am I going to do?" She pulled away from him slightly, placing her hands on his cheeks and looking him deeply in the eye.

"You're going to be a great Emperor, Caliban." She told him firmly. "Florizel will be there to help you," she smiled at him. "And anyway, if the people don't accept you, which won't happen, you can always come back here…"

"Don't tempt me." He murmured before kissing her.

Meanwhile, Nerissa, back in her role as Reimo Guardian, and Florizel were stood nearby with the Scouts, Darien and the three cats.

"Once again, many thanks for all your help." The Royal Adviser was saying gratefully. "One day we shall return the favour."

"It was an honour to help you, Florizel." Luna replied. The man bowed deeply to the group, then turned to regretfully speak to the young lovers.

"Your Highnesses? It is time." He announced. Alexia bit her lip, holding onto her prince's hands as if she would never let go.

"We'll always be together." She told him. "No matter how far apart we are, our hearts will always be as one."

"Awww…" Serena couldn't help but sigh as she rested her head against Darien's chest, tears in her eyes. "It's so moving…" she sniffled.

"I know." Caliban ran a hand down her cheek, committing to memory the softness of her skin. "I want to do one more thing before I leave…" He took a breath and her hands in his. "Alexia, my Princess, Sailor Charon…" he said gently. "I love you and I will return for you one day." Amidst gasps of joy from the Scouts he got down on one knee. "When I return, will you marry me?" Alexia somehow managed to continue to hold back her tears.

"You'd better say yes!" Mina yelled, and the couple laughed.

"Yes, Caliban, of course I will!" She exclaimed, delighted. He smiled, taking her left hand and slipping a ring on it - the very same ring he had given her in the Moon Kingdom!

"Can you believe Florizel kept this all this time?" He grinned as he stood up again, grabbing the girl by the waist and spinning her around; both of them laughing loudly as they went. He looked over at Florizel and Nerissa and sighed, the smile once again leaving his face. "I must go now…"

"I know." Alexia looked at the ground; she didn't want him to see how much she wanted him to stay.

Their hands were still intertwined as he started to walk towards the ship, and their arms stretched out until finally they were too far away from each other. Alexia's arm dropped back to her side limply as the prince stood at the door with Nerissa, as Florizel had gone to start the engines.

"Good luck with everything! We'll miss you!" Serena called as she wiped her eyes.

"'Bye!" Nerissa waved to them. "It was a pleasure working with you all!"

"Ditto!" Lita called back. "Oh, and I'm sorry I hated you for a while!"

"I'm so glad we got the chance to learn to know the real you, Caliban." Amy said.

"I'm glad I got to know all of you again, too." The prince responded, his eyes never leaving Alexia, who was still looking at the ground.

"Hey, Caliban! I have a question – how _old_ are you?!" Serena suddenly asked.

"The same age I was back on the Moon – 17 in both Earth and Reimoan years – Reimo goes around our sun at the same speed as Earth! Oh, and in case you were wondering, I stopped the anti-aging spell!"

"Anti-aging spell?!" The girls exclaimed, staring at him.

"I'll explain later." Artemis promised them.

"Look after yourselves, and each other!" Rei advised, continuing the farewells.

"I hope we see you all again soon!" Mina waved, and in her heart she knew that they would.

"Goodbye!" The pair waved, looking tearful as the doors finally slid shut, and the ship flew away quickly.

Alexia finally looked up as the ship disappeared into the starry heavens.

"Farewell, my love." She whispered, knowing she couldn't hold on any longer. She turned to look at Rei, the tears already filling her eyes. "Rei…I think I'm going to need that shoulder now…" she whimpered. Rei walked over to her quickly, throwing her arms around her best friend as she sobbed loudly.

"It will be okay, Alexia…I promise." She whispered, stroking her green hair comfortingly.

"Oh, Alexia…" Estrella sniffled, and Luna nuzzled her face against the kitten's, like a mother soothing her daughter.

x x x x x

"Choices, choices…" Merula sighed as she looked up at the list of departure times. Her time in England had come to an end. "Wherever next? After all, I haven't got much holiday time left…" she sighed and placed a hand on her chest. Just as she'd always expected, her heart was yearning to see _her_ again.

"How about Berlin? I've always wanted to go there!" The purple-haired girl's reverie was broken by the distinct accent of the girl stood beside her. Merula's brown eyes flicked to the side to look at Alice, who was looking at her expectantly. "Well? How's your German?"

"Not as good as my English, but there's no harm in practising!" Merula placed an arm around Alice's shoulders and she beamed.

"Fabulous!" her sunny expression suddenly switched to one of doubt. "That is, if you don't mind me coming along…"

"Hey, I asked you if you wanted to keep me company, remember?! Anyway, you look like you could do with a holiday." Merula grinned at her companion, who smiled back.

"You're right, silly me!" she giggled as Merula ushered her along.

Japan could wait…for now…

x x x x x

"Well, _that_ was an interesting class!" Alexia exclaimed as she and Estrella reached the top of the temple steps.

"What's up?" Rei inquired as the girl flung her bag down. They were all there, awaiting Alexia, who had asked if they could all meet up and do something to take her mind off the departure of Caliban.

"Well, it all started with Ms. Yakamori introducing our new pianist and sadly informing us that Crystal and Matthias would no longer be able to come to classes due to the fact that they have to move due to family issues!" She explained, sitting down with Estrella in her lap. "So I had all these girls around me for the whole class, being all sympathetic and then some of them were telling me about how they manage to have relationships with guys who live in different towns to them!" She couldn't help but laugh. "It was actually quite funny; part of me wanted to say to them 'different towns would be no problem - you try keeping a relationship going in different _galaxies_!'" They all laughed with her. "It seemed really, really strange though, not practising for the recital and Caliban and Nerissa not being there…"

"Hey you guys!" Serena announced as she leapt to her feet, deciding to change the subject. "I decided something after the recital - I wanna be a dancer too!" She began to spin - and tripped over Luna! Amid the laughs of the other Scouts and the wails of Serena Alexia sat quietly, staring at her engagement ring with a troubled expression.

Last night, before Caliban had left, Florizel had asked to talk to her in private. His words were still echoing in her mind…

…_The Royal Adviser and girl walked a little way away from the group. _

"_Alexia, I would like you to sit down, please." He told her, indicating the bench they had arrived at. She did as she was told, wondering what he was going to say. "I have something to tell you. I don't know how you'll take this but please, try to remain calm." He took a breath before continuing. "While I was travelling from Reimo I received a call from another of our ships in the Nether Zones of space."_

"_Nether Zones?" Alexia repeated._

"_Yes, they are right at the edge of the universe, billions upon billions of light-years away from you. It is a terrible area, the resting place of the debris of thousands of destroyed planets. Anyway, I am now off the subject. This ship had discovered an extremely weak energy reading there - the energy reading matched that of Lucilius." He looked at her regretfully. "It seems that the power of the Silver Crystal and Plutonian Sphere were not enough to finish him off. Like I said, it was extremely weak and an incredible distance from you - so there's no cause for panic - yet." He added quickly. "Nonetheless, I am very sorry."_…

She sighed, looked up at her friends, and bit her lip. Florizel's news hadn't really sunk in until she'd been in bed, trying to sleep. She had decided to place the message to the back of her head - there was no need to panic, she'd probably never see Lucilius again! However, she couldn't keep it from them - they had a right to know too…

"Hey Alexia, what's wrong?" Serena asked her, her eyes full of concern as she noticed the dark-haired Scout's trouble expression. Alexia got to her feet.

"Nothing, nothing at all," she smiled. "As for you being a dancer, Serena, maybe that's not such a good idea. Stick to what you're best at."

"What, sleeping and eating?" Rei suddenly inquired. Serena turned red.

"No, Rei! I mean, sure she's good at those but her biggest talents are making people happy and being a good friend. Oh, and of course, saving the world." Alexia responded. Serena smiled and blushed.

"You're pretty good at it too, Alexia." She replied. "Now we can all see there's something wrong - so please, tell us."

Alexia looked at each of her friends - Amy, Lita, Serena, Rei, Mina, Luna, Artemis and Estrella - in turn, then took a deep breath:

"I had an ulterior motive when I asked if we could all meet today." She explained, feeling nervous. "I have something important to tell you all…"

The End.


End file.
